* 


i 


THE  PSALMS 

A  STUDY  OF  THE  VULGATE  PSALTER 
IN  THE  LIGHT  OF  THE  HEBREW  TEXT 


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PSALMS 


A  STUDY  OF  THE  VULGATE  PSALTER 
IN  THE  LIGHT  OF  THE  HEBREW  TEXT 


BY 


-v\ 


REV.  PATRICK  BOYLAN,  M.A. 

Professor  of  Sacred  Scripture  and  Oricntal  Languages , 
St.  Patrici?  s  College ,  Maynoolh ,  and  Professor  of  E  astem 
Languages ,  University  College ,  Dubim 


VOLUME  ONE 
PSALMS  I-LXXI 


BOSTON  COLLE9S  LIBRARI 
CEK8TRUT  MLL,  MA&g, 


B.  HERDER  BOOK  COMPANY 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

M .  H .  G I  L  L  &  SON,  LTD. 

Dublin 


1920 


Rtbil  Obstat: 

JOANNES  CANONICUS  WATERS, 

Censor  Theol.  Deput. 


Imprimi  potest: 

^  GULIELMUS, 

Archiep.  Dublinen. 

Hibernise  Primas. 


Dublini,  die  30  Decembris,  1920. 


& 


PREFACE 


THE  main  purpose  of  this  work  is  to  put  within  reach  of 
divinity  students,  priests  and  the  educated  laity  such 
information  as  is  required  for  the  intelligent  use  of  the 
Vulgate  Psalter. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  in  a  general  introduction  to  the 
Book  of  Psalms  to  outline  the  history  and  the  chief  charac- 
teristics  of  the  Vulgate  Psalter  as  a  whole.  In  the  Commentary 
the  psalms  of  the  Vulgate  are  studied  in  detail  as  independent 
units,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  introduction,  translation,  and 
notes  which  accompany  each  psalm  will  make  it  ciear  that  the 
Vulgate  Psalter  is  a  collection  of  beautiful  and  reasonably  in- 
telligible  poems.  Where  the  text  of  the  Vulgate  is  obscure, 
light  has  been  freely  sought  in  the  Hebrew  Psalter.  Every 
Hebrew  word  and  phrase  quoted  in  the  Commentary  has,  how- 
ever,  been  transliterated  and  explained,  and  no  specialist  know- 
ledge  (beyond  what  this  work  itself  supplies)  is  necessary  for 
the  understanding  of  any  statement  contained  in  the  Comment¬ 
ary.  It  will  be  found  that  the  English  version  of  the  Vulgate 
psalms  given  in  this  work  is  explained  and  justified  in  the  notes 
which  follow  the  individual  psalms. 

Some  surprise  may  be  felt  that  the  work  contains  so  few 
references  to  authorities.  But  professional  students  of  Scripture 
will  probably  recognise  that  this  is  not  due  to  any  neglect  of  the 
important  contributions  to  every  department  of  psalm-exegesis 
made  by  modern  scholarship.  Modern  research  has  been  con- 
stantly  kept  in  sight,  and  its  results,  so  far  as  they  could  be 
regarded  as  sound  and  pertinent,  have  been  incorporated  in  the 
present  study.  In  the  great  mass  of  existing  literature  dealing 
with  the  Psalter  it  is  difficult  to  find  anything  valuable  which 
has  not  been  put  forward  as  an  independent  personal  contri- 
bution  by  several  writers.  Where  individual  achievement  is 
so  difficult  to  identify,  it  is  probably  better,  and  certainly  more 


VI 


PREFACE 


economical,  to  abandon  the  custom  of  bracketing  with  exegetical 
views  long  lists  of  authors’  names. 

I  have  tried  in  the  Commentary  to  be  as  brief  as  the  diffi- 
culties  of  exposition  permitted — keeping  in  view  the  familiar 
experience  that  in  exegesis  it  is  usually  easier  to  say  too  much 
than  too  little.  Though  enumerations  of  theories  and  discursive 
treatment  of  the  text  have  been,  for  the  most  part,  avoided,  no 
genuine  problem  of  the  Vulgate  Psalter  has  been  consciously 
shirked. 

To  the  Rev.  M.  B.  Langford,  B.D.,  Dunboyne  Establishment, 
Maynooth  College,  who  assisted  in  preparing  the  manuscript 
for  the  printer,  and  to  the  Rev.  P.  J.  Walsh,  M.A.,  Archbishop's 
House,  Dublin,  who  read  the  proofs  and  helped  me  constantly 
with  kindly  and  suggestive  criticism,  my  best  thanks  are  due. 

P.  B. 


St.  Pa.trick’s  College,  Maynooth. 


CONTENTS 


Preface  .... 

INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS  : 
I.  Its  place  in  the  Canon 


PAGE 

V 


II.  Names  and  divisio ns  of  the  Book  of  Psalnis 

.  xii 

III.  The  primitive  text  oj  the  P salter 

.  xvi 

IV.  Ancient  ver sions  of  the  P salter  , 

.  xxii 

V.  The  poetical  form  of  the  Psalms 

xlviii 

VI.  The  purpose  of  the  P  salter 

.  lv 

VII.  The  Super scriptions  of  the  Psalms 

.  Ivi 

VIII.  Classification  of  the  Psalms 

.  lxi 

IX.  Important  dates  in  Hebrew  history 

.  lxvi 

X.  T ransliteration  of  Hebrew 

lxvii 

XI.  Bibliography  .... 

lxviii 

PSALM 

i.  The  Two  Paths  .... 

1 

2.  The  Victory  of  the  Anointed  . 

•  4 

3.  A  Morning  Prayer  .... 

.  8 

4.  A  Vesper  Song  .  .  ^ 

.  11 

5.  A  prayer  for  guidance  and  for  the  punishment  of  the  godless 

.  14 

6.  A  prayer  in  time  of  need 

.  17 

7.  A  cry  for  help  .... 

.  20 

8.  Man’s  littleness  and  greatness 

.  24 

9.  A  song  of  thanks  for  the  overthrow  of  enemies  . 

.  27 

10.  Trust  in  the  Lord  !  .... 

•  35 

11.  Complaint  of  the  pious 

.  38 

12.  Confidence  in  the  time  of  trial 

.  41 

13.  The  Fools  ..... 

• 

•  43 

XI 


Vll 


viii  CONTENTS 

PSALM  PAGE 

14.  The  Citizen  of  Sion  .  .  .  .  .  .47 

15.  God  is  man’ s  chief  good  .  .  .  .  .49 

16.  A  prayer  for  justice  against  ruthless  foes  .  .  •  53 

17.  A  song  of  thanksgiving  and  iriumph  .  .  .  .  58 

18.  The  glory  of  God  in  the  Heavens  and  in  the  Law  .  .66 

19.  A  prayer  for  the  King  when  he  goes  forth  to  battle  .  .  71 

20.  Af ter  the  battle  .  .  .  .  .  •  74 

21.  The  Just  One  in  distress  .  .  .  .  .  78 

22.  The  Lord  as  Shepherd  and  Host  .  .  .  .84 

23.  Entry  into  the  Sanctuary  of  the  Lord  .  .  .  .86 

24.  A  prayer  in  time  of  need  .  .  .  .  .89 

25.  A  prayer  of  the  guiltless  .  .  .  .  .92 

26.  In  the  Lord  I  am  strong !  .  .  .  .  94 

27.  A  prayer  against  enemies  .  .  .  .  .98 

28.  The  glory  of  God  in  a  storm  .....  100 

29.  A  song  of  thanks  for  rescue  .....  103 

30.  A  prayer  in  time  of  need  .....  106 

31.  The  joy  of  pardon  ......  m 

32.  The  Providence  of  God  .  .  .  .  .114 

33.  Peace  and  joy  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  ....  117 

34.  A  prayer  of  the  lowly  .....  120 

35.  The  blessedness  of  God’ s  favour  .  .  .  «125 

36.  How  fleeting  the  luck  of  the  godless  ....  128 

37.  A  p enitentia!  prayer  of  one  smitten  by  sickness  .  .  133 

38.  Lndurance  in  trial  ......  137 

39.  Obedience  and  gratitude  are  better  than  sacrifice  .  .  141 

40.  Prayer  of  a  sick  man  against  treacherous  enemies  .  .  145 

41.  Longing  for  God  ......  149 

42.  Longing  for  God  ......  154 

43.  Awake,  0  God  of  Israel  .....  156 

44.  A  royal  wedding  .  .  .  .  .  .160 

45-  A  sure  refuge  is  the  God  of  Israel  .  .  .  «165 

46.  Hymn  to  the  Lord  as  King  of  the  world  .  .  .  168- 

47.  The  City  of  God.  A  song  for  pilgrims  .  .  .  171 


CONTENTS 

ix 

PSALM 

PAGE 

48.  Weallh  avails  not  the  wicked  . 

*  175 

49.  The  well-pleasing  sacrifice 

.  l80 

50.  God,  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner 

.  I84 

51.  The  fate  of  sinner s 

.  I89 

52.  The  Fools  .... 

•  193 

53.  A  prayer  against  ruthless  foes 

•  195 

54.  Impious  foes,  and  a  disloyal  friend 

.  197 

55.  In  God  I  pnt  my  trust  ! 

.  202 

56.  In  God  I  have  no  fear  ! 

.  205 

57.  A  prayer  against  unjust  judges 

.  208 

58.  A  prayer  for  help  agains  ruthless  foes 

.  212 

59.  Help  us,  0  Lord,  according  to  Thy  promise  ! 

.  2l6 

60.  A  prayer  of  an  exile  for  the  king 

.  222 

61.  Confidence  in  God 

.  225 

62.  The  possession  of  God 

.  229 

63.  A  prayer  for  the  punishment  of  slander  er  s 

.  232 

64.  Thanksgiving  for  God’s  favours 

.  236 

65.  A  Thanksgiving 

•  243 

66.  A  harvest  song 

.  247 

67.  A  commemoration  of  victory  . 

.  250 

68.  A  cry  from  the  depths  of  sorrow 

.  267 

69.  A  cry  for  help  against  enemies 

.  278 

70.  A  prayer  for  help 

.  280 

71.  The  King  of  Peace 

• 

.  289 

INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  BOOK  OF 

PSALMS 


I. — Its  Place  in  the  Canon 

i 

THE  books  of  the  Hebrew  Bible  are  divided  into  three  classes  : 
(i)  the  Law  (the  five  books  of  Moses) ;  (2)  the  Prophets  (the  so 
called  ‘earlier’  Prophets,  Joshue,  Judges,  Samuel,  Kings,  and 
the  ‘  later  '  Prophets,  Isaias,  Jeremias,  Ezechiel  and  the  twelve  minor 
Prophets);  (3)  the ‘Writings/  To  the  ‘Writings’  (which  are  usually 
known  by  their  Greek  name  Hagiographa)  belong,  (a)  three  books  of 
poetry,  Psalms,  Proverbs,  Job  ;  ( b )  the  five  ‘  Rolls  ’  (volumina), 
Canticles,  Ruth,  Lamentati ons.  Ecclesiastes,  Esther  ;  (c)  Daniel ; 

(d)  the  historical  books,  Esdras  Nehemias,  and  the  two  Books  of 
Paralipomenon  (Chronici es). 

Thus  the  Book  of  Psalms  belongs  to  the  Hagiographa.  In  the 
New  Test ament  peri od  it  was  apparently  the  first  book  of  that  group, 
for  Our  Lord,  referring  to  the  three  classes  of  books  that  make  up  the 
Old  Testament,  speaks  of  the  things  that  had  been  written  of  Him  ‘in 
the  Law  of  Moses,  and  in  the  Prophets,  and  in  the  Psalms  '  (Luke 
24, 44).  There  is,  however,  no  fixed  tradition  as  to  the  precise  place 
of  the  Psalms  among  the  ‘  Writings.’  In  the  majority  of  Hebrew 
manuscripts  of  the  Bible  and  in  all  the  printed  Hebrew  Bibles  the 
order  of  the  Hagiographa  is  that  given  above — Psalms,  Proverbs, 
Job,  the  five  Rolls,  Daniel,  Esdras — Nehemias  and  Chronicles.  In 
the  Talmud,  however,  Ruth  is  put  before  the  Psalms,  and  in  some 
manuscripts  of  the  Bible,  Chronicles  comes  first. 

The  Hebrew  arrangement  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament 
was  known  at  Alexandria,  the  horne  of  the  Greek  Bible,  in  the  second 
century  b.c.,  for  it  is  several  times  referred  to  in  the  Prologue  to 
Ecclesiasticus  (written  probably  about  132  b.c.).  It  was  not,  however, 
retained  by  the  Greek  Bible.  There  is  little  agreement  among  the 
ancient  Greek  codices  as  to  the  precise  order  of  the  books  in  the 
Greek  Old  Testament,  but  it  is  ciear  that  a  grouping  of  books  accord- 
ing  to  subject-matter  and  authorship  was  substituted  for  the  Hebrew 
system.  The  editors  of  the  Greek  Bible  aimed,  apparently,  at  an 
arrangement  of  the  books  into  historical,  didactic  or  sapiential,  and 
prophetical.  While  the  chief  historical  books  always  appear  in  the 
Greek  codices  in  the  first  place,  the  sapiential  and  prophetical  books 

xi 


Xll 


INTRODUCTION 


frequently  change  places.  The  Vatican  Codex  (B),  with  which  the 
majority  of  ancient  authorities  agree,  places  the  sapiential  books  in 
the  second  place  and  the  prophetical  in  the  third.  The  sapiential 
books  are  seven  and  appear  in  B  in  the  order  Psalms,  Proverbs, 
Ecclesiastes,  Canticles,  Job,  Wisdom,  Ecclesiasticus.  In  the  Latin 
Bible  (Vulgate),  which  also  assigns  the  middle  place  to  the  sapiential 
books,  Job  is  the  first  of  the  sapiential  books  and  Psalms  the  second.1 


II. — NAMES  AND  DlVISIONS  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS 

There  is  no  one  general  name  for  the  Book  of  Psalms  in  the 
Hebrew  Bible.  The  Book  was  called  by  the  Jews  at  an  early  period 
Tehillim  (‘  Praises  ’)  or  Sepher  Tehillim  (‘  Book  of  Praises.’)2  This 
designation  of  the  Hebrew  Book  of  Psalms  was  known  to  Origen,  for 
he  calls  the  Book  a-epcpOiXXlp.^  and  to  Jerome,  who  calls  it  Sephar 
Thallim*  In  the  Greek  Bible  the  Book  is  usually  designated  paX/iol* 
and  in  the  New  Testament  we  hear  of  the  os  paXp.wv  (Luke 
20,42 4 *;  Acts  i,20). 

In  the  Alexandrian  Codex  of  the  Septuagint  paXrrjpiov  is  used  as  a 
name  for  the  whole  collection  of  psalms.  Psalterium  was,  apparently, 
a  popular  name  of  the  book  as  early  as  the  time  of  St.  Jerome.6 
Psalterium  Davidicum  centum  quinquaginta  psalmorum  is  the  title 
used  in  the  Tridentine  list  of  canonical  books  (Cone.  Trid.  sess.  iv. 
Decretum  de  canonicis  scripturis).  ‘  Psaltery  '  is,  properly  speaking, 
the  name  of  a  musical  instrument  (harp,  or  similar  stringed  instru- 
ment),  and  paXrrjpiov  is  used  frequently  in  the  Greek  text  of  the 
Psalms  to  translate  the  Hebrew  nebhel  (harp).  Though  '  Psalter  ’ 
is  thus  a  somewhat  inexact  name  for  the  collection  of  psalms,  its 
popularity  is  justified  by  the  circumstance  that  the  psalms  were 
primitively  intended,  for  the  most  part,  to  be  sung  to  a  musical  ac- 
companiment.  More  than  a  third  of  the  psalms  are  called  in  the 
Hebrew  superscriptions  mizmor,  i. e.  a  song  meant  to  be  sung  to  a 
musical  accompaniment.  The  Greek  word  paXpos  is  an  accurate 


1  In  the  Sinaitic  Codex  of  the  Septuagint,  the  sapiential  books  are  the 
last  group  and  the  first  of  them  is  Psalms,  the  last  Job  :  in  the  Codex  Alexandrinus 
the  sapiential  books  are  again  in  the  third  place,  Psalms  being  the  first  of  them, 
and  Job  the  second.  See  on  this  whole  question  Swete,  Introduction  to  the 
Old  Testament  in  Greek.  Revised  by  Ottley,  1914.  Pp.  197-230. 

2  Tehillim  is  often  contrasted  into  Tillim.  The  form  with  Aramaic  ending 
Tillin  is  also  often  used. 

3  Origen  in  Ps.  i.  Migne,  12,  1084. 

4  Praef.  in  librum  Psalmorum  juxta  Hebraicam  veritatem.  Migne,  Jerome, 

28,  1124.  Jerome  renders  the  title,  Volumen  hymnorum. 

6  See  Luke  24, 44,  already  referred  to. 

6  See  his  Preface  to  the  Psalter,  printed  in  editions  of  the  Vulgate. 


INTRODUCTION 


•  •  • 
Xlll 

rendering  of  mizmor.  It  is  not  strange,  then,  that  a  book  which 
consisted  mainly  of  paXfxoi  should  come  to  be  called  a  ‘  Psaltery/ 
or  ‘  Psalter/ 

Besides  mizmor  (‘  psalm  ')  there  are  several  other  names  given  to 
individual  psalms  and  groups  of  psalms  in  the  Hebrew  text.  The 
final  verse  of  Ps.  72  (Hebrew)  speaks  of  the  foregoing  psalms  as 
fphilloth  Dawid  (‘  the  prayers  of  David  ’).  It  is  possible,  however, 
that  the  true  reading  here  ought  to  be  fhilloth  Dawid,  ‘  the  praises  of 
David  ’  (as  in  the  Latin  text  of  the  verse,  laudes  David) — a  title  which 
would  be  identical  (except  for  the  feminine,  and  more  normal,  plural 
fhilloth)  with  the  Jewish  name  of  the  Psalter — Tehillim.  In  the 
Vulgate  Ps.  16  is  called  an  Oratio  David,  Ps.  101  Oratio  pauperis, 
Ps.  89  Oratio  Moysi ;  Ps.  141  is  also  called  an  Oratio.  Some  psalms 
are  called  shir  (a  ‘  song  '  :  Ps.  46,  45,  18 — Hebrew)  ;  several  are  called 
shir  mizmor  {psalmus  cantici ;  so,  Ps.  47,  66,  67,  etc.)  ;  others  are 
called  mizmor  shir  {canticum  psalmi  ;  so,  Ps.  65,  87,  etc.).  A  number 
of  psalms,  apparently  forming  a  special  group,  receive  the  unintelligible 
name  mikhtam  (Ps.  15,  55-59  ;  the  name  is  rendered  in  the  Latin 
Tituli  inscriptio)  ;  another  group  is  marked  off  by  the  title  maskil 
(Ps.  31,  41,  43,  44,  51-54,  73,  77,  87,  88,  141).  In  the  Latin  this 
name  is  rendered  usually  Intellectus,  but  in  Ps.  51  it  appears  as  In- 
telligentia.  The  meaning  of  the  name  is  uncertain.  Ps.  44  is  called 
in  the  Latin  Canticum  pro  dilecto  (‘ love-song ’).  Ps.  7  is  called  in 
Hebrew  a  Shiggayon — which  uncertain  title  the  Latin  replaces  by 
psalmus.  Psalms  119-133  ali  receive  in  the  Latin  the  title  Canticum 
graduum  {'  gradual  psalm  *  corresponding  to  the  Hebrew  shir  ham- 
ma,(lloth).  The  only  psalm  which  is  directly  called  Tehillah  {‘  a 
praising-song  ’)  is  Ps.  144  (in  Latin  called  a  Laudatio)  Ps.  90  is, 
however,  styled  in  the  Latin  Laus  Cantici  (but  there  is  no  correspond¬ 
ing  title  in  the  Hebrew).  These  and  such  other  designations  of 
individual  psalms  as  occur  are  discussed  in  their  respective  places  in 
the  Commentary. 

The  Hebrew  Book  of  Psalms  contains  150  poems.  The  Greek 
translation  of  ihe  Psalter  known  as  the  Septuagint  contains  15 1, 
but  the  last  psalm  in  the  Greek — a  poem  by  David  on  his  struggle 
with  Goliath,  is  regarded  generally  as  apocryphal.  The  150  canonical 
psalms  are  not  numbered  in  the  same  way  in  the  Hebrew 
and  the  Greek.  Since  in  this  respect,  as  in  most  others,  the  Latin 
Psalter  (Vulgate)  follows  the  Greek,  it  is  necessary  to  make  quite 
ciear  the  relations  between  the  two  systems  of  numbering  the 
psalms. 

The  Hebrew  psalms  9  and  10  appear  in  the  Graeco-Latin 
Psalter  as  a  single  poem.  The  Hebrew  psalms  114  and  115  also 
appear  as  one  psalm  in  the  Graeco-Latin  text.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Graeco-Latin  text  breaks  up  the  Hebrew  Ps.  116  into  two 
psalms,  and  treats  the  Hebrew  Ps.  147  also  as  if  it  were  two  poems. 


XIV 


INTRODUCTION 


The  exact  relations  of  the  two-psalters  are  shown  in  the  following 
tabi  e :  — 


Hebre w  Ps.  1-8  = 

„  9-10  = 

„  n-113  = 

„  114-115  = 

„  116,  x-9  — 

„  116,  10'19  = 

„  117-146  == 

„  147,  i-11  = 

„  147,  12-20  = 

„  148-150  = 


Graeco-Latin  Ps.  1-8 

„  9 

,,  10-112 

M  113 

„  114 

„  115 

„  116-145 

,,  I46 

„  147 

„  I48-I5O 


Thus  it  will  be  seen  that,  for  the  most  part,  the  numbering  of  the 
Greek  and  Latin  psalms  is  one  less  than  that  of  the  corresponding 
psalms  in  the  Hebrew  psalter,  and  psalters  which  are  directly  derived 
from  the  Hebrew.  Throughout  this  work  the  numbering  of  the 
Latin  psalter  is  followed — except  where  it  is  otherwise  expressly 
stated. 

The  150  psalms  are  divided  into  five  books.  These  books  are 
marked  off  from  each  other  by  doxologies  which  serve  as  conclusions 
to  the  books.  To  the  first  book  belong  Ps.  1-40;  to  the  second, 
Ps.  41-71  ;  to  the  third,  Ps.  72-88  ;  to  the  fourth,  Ps  89-105  ;  to 
the  fifth,  Ps.  106-150.  The  doxologies  which  mark  the  close  of  the 
different  books  are  : 


Ps.  40, 14 :  Benedictus  Dominus  Deus  Israel  a  saeculo, 
et  usque  in  saecjilum  :  fiat,  fiat. 

Ps.  71,18-19;  Benedictus  Dominus  Deus  Israel, 
qui  facit  mirabilia  solus, 

et  benedictum  nomen  majestatis  ejus  in  aeternum, 
et  replebitur  majestate  ejus  omnis  terra  :  fiat,  fiat. 

Ps.  88, 63 :  Benedictus  Dominus  in  aeternum  :  fiat,  fiat. 


Ps.  105, 48 :  Benedictus  Dominus  Deus  Israel 
a  saeculo  et  usque  in  saeculum  ; 
et  dicet  omnis  populus  :  fiat,  fiat. 

Ps.  150  serves  as  a  conclusion  to  the  fifth  book  and  to  the  entire 
collection. 

The  division  of  the  psalms  into  five  books  has  often  been  ascribed 
to  the  alleged  desire  of  Jewish  scholars  to  model  the  Book  of  Psalms 
on  the  Pentateuch.  Just  as  there  were  five  books  of  the  Law,  so  there 
should  be  five  books  of  praising  song.  There  is,  however,  practically 
no  evidence  to  support  this  view.  It  is  more  likely  that  the  arrange- 
ment  of  the  psalms  in  five  separate  books  is  due  to  the  gradual 


INTRODUCTION 


xv 


formation  of  the  Psalter.  There  are  many  features  of  the  Psalter 
which  suggest  that  it  was  not  collected  by  a  single  editor  who  brought 
together  a  number  of  individual  poems,  but  that  it  grew  gradually, 
for  the  most  part  by  the  union  of  small  pre-existing  groups  of  poems. 
Thus  Ps.  13  of  the  first  book,  appears  again  as  Ps.  52  in  the  second 
book.  Ps.  39, 14^  appears  again  as  Ps.  69  in  the  second  book.  Ps.  107 
of  the  fifth  book  is  a  combination  of  Ps.  56, 8”12  and  59, 7“14  of  the 
second  book.  This  repetition  of  psalm-passages  in  different  books 
implies,  probably,  that  these  books  were  in  existence  as  independent 
collections  before  they  were  combined  in  the  Psalter.  The  gradual 
growth  of  the  Psalter  by  the  coalescence  of  collections  of  poems  is 
strongly  suggested  also  by  the  conclusion  of  Ps.  71,  the  last  psalm  of 
the  second  book  :  '  Finished  are  the  prayers  (or  praises)  of  David/ 
The  writer  of  that  conclusion  could  scarcely  have  been  aware  of  the 
existence  of  the  eighteen  poems  which  are  ascribed  to  David  in  the 
Hebrew  text  of  Books  III-V.1 

The  presence  in  the  Psalter  of  several  distinet  groups  of  psalms 


1  The  growth  of  the  Psalter  from  smaller  collections  is  perhaps  also  suggested 
by  the  manner  in  which  the  Divine  names  Yahweh  (the  personal  name  of  the 
God  of  Israel)  and  * Elohim  (‘  God  ')  are  used  in  the  different  parts  of  the  Psalter. 
In  the  first  book  (Hebrew)  Yahweh  occurs  272  times,  ' Elohim  15  ;  in  the  second 
book  (Hebr.)  Yahweh  occurs  30  times,  ’ Elohim  164.  In  the  third  book  (Hebr.), 
in  Ps.  73-83  (Hebr.)  Yahweh  occurs  13  times,  and  ’ Elohim  36 ;  but  in 
the  same  book,  in  Ps.  84-89  (Hebr.)  Yahweh  occurs  31  times,  and 
‘Elohim  7.  In  Bk.  IV  we  have  Yahweh  only,  and  in  Bk.  V  Yahweh  only  (except 
in  Ps.  108  which  is  repeated  from  Ps.  57  and  60,  and  in  Ps.  144,®  (Hebr.). 
Why  does  ' Elohim  preponderate  so  greatly  in  Bk.  II  and  in  Ps.  73-83 
(Hebr.)  ?  The  reason  seems  to  be  that  the  *  Elohistic  ’  psalms,  as  they  are 
called  from  their  use  of  ' Elohim ,  had  been  edited  as  a  separate  collection  before 
they  were  incorporated  in  the  Psalter.  Notice  particularly  that  Ps.  14  (Hebr.), 
which  used  Yahweh  in  the  first  book,  uses  ’ Elohim  when  it  appears  as  Ps.  53 
(Hebr.)  in  Bk.  II.  The  same  is  true  of  Ps.  40, 19-^  (Hebr.)  ;  it  is  *  Yahwistic,' 
but  is  ‘  Elohistic  ’  when  it  reappears  as  Ps.  70  (Hebr.)  in  Bk.  II.  The  editor 
who  substituted  ’ Elohim  for  Yahweh  in  Bk.  II  could  not  have  been  the  editor 
or  collector  of  the  whole  Psalter.  That  the  editor  or  collector  of  Bk.  II  had  a 
very  strong  prejudice  against  using  the  name  Yahweh  appears  from  the  fact 
that  he  employs  reduplicatio ns  of  ' Elohim  in  a  manner  not  to  be  paralleled  from 
other  parts  of  the  Old  Testament.  Where  other  authors  or  editors  would  have 
written  ‘  Yahweh,  my  God,'  or  ‘  Yahweh,  thy  God,'  he  gives  us  ‘  God,  my  God  ’ 
(42,*)  and  ‘God,  thy  God’  (44,®;  49*).  So  also  in  the  second  book  we 
find  such  phrases  as  Deus,  Deus  salutis  meae  (50, 16)  ;  ‘  God,  the  God  of  Israel  ’ 
(68,®  Hebr.),  where  we  should  rather  expect  ‘  Yahweh,  my  rescuing  God/ 
‘  Yahweh,  the  God  of  Israel.'  The  editor  of  Bk.  II  may,  perhaps,  have  been 
the  Elohistic  editor  also  of  Ps.  73-83  (Hebr.).  In  spite  of  his  predilection 
for  ’ Elohim  the  ‘  Elohistic '  collector  or  editor  has  allowed  Yahweh,  as  was  said 
above,  to  stand  in  a  fairly  considerable  number  of  places.  Hence  his  prejudice 
against  allowing  that  Divine  name  to  stand  in  the  text  in  those  places  where  it 
has  been  obviously  omitted,  cannot  be  due  to  the  later  Jewish  tendency  to  abstain 
altogether  from  using  the  name  Yahweh.  The  Hebrew  personal  name  of  God  is 
written  throughout  this  work  as  Yahweh.  There  is  no  real  justification  for  the 
form  Jehovah.  The  first  consonant  of  the  word  is  a  y-sound  rather  than  an 
English  j.  The  vowels  of  Jehovah  are  really  the  vowels  of  'adonai  (lord),  for  ’adonai 
was  substituted  by  Jews  of  the  late  period  for  Yahweh. 


XVI 


INTRODUCTION 


which  stand  apart  from  ali  the  rest  is  a  further  indication  of  the 
gradual  growth  of  the  Psalter  from  the  coalescence  of  pre-existing 
smaller  collections  of  poems.  Such  an  obvious  group,  for  instance, 
is  that  of  the  ‘  Gradual  Psalms  '  (i  19-133).  Other  such  definite 
groups  are  the  Asaphite  Psalms  (Ps.  49,  72-82),  and  the  Korachite 
collection  (Ps.  41-48,  83-88)  ;  further,  the  maskil- psalms  (51-54), 
the  mikhtam-g roup  (55-59),  and  the  ‘  Alleluja  '-psalms  (104-106,  110- 
118,  134-135,  145-150). 

Since  there  are  many  poems  in  the  Psalter  which  do  not  belong  to 
any  of  the  obvious  groups  of  psalms,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
Psalter  has  not  grown  wholly  from  the  union  of  groups  of  psalms. 
Individual  psalms  were  incorporated  with  the  groups  by  the  different 
editors.  The  question  of  the  authorship  of  the  psalms  is,  of  course, 
independent  of  all  theories  as  to  the  manner  and  date  of  their  col¬ 
lection  and  publication,  as  we  have  them,  in  the  Psalter.  The  question 
of  the  authorship  of  the  Psalms  will  be  discussed  in  a  later  section. 


III. — The  Primitive  Text  of  the  Psalter 

The  original  language  of  all  the  psalms  was  Hebrew.  It  is  prac- 
tically  certain  that  the  period  throughout  which  the  psalms  of  our 
Psalter  were  composed  extended  over,  at  least,  six  or  seven  hundred 
years — from  the  time  of  David  (who  began  to  reign  about  1,000  b.c.) 
io  some  date  in  the  post-exilic  period  (which  began  with  the  first 
return  of  the  Exiles  from  Babylon  about  538  b.c.).  If  some  of  the 
psalms  were  composed  in  the  Maccabean  period  (167-63  b.c.),  as  many 
critics  maintain,  the  gradual  formati on  of  the  Psalter  vili  have  ex¬ 
tended  over  a  period  of  close  on  a  thousand  years.  It  is  not,  indeed, 
probable  that  some  of  the  psalms  were  written  as  late  as  the  Maccabean 
period,  for  it  is  likely  that  the  psalm-collection  was  complete  when 
I  Paralipomenon  was  written  (about  300  b.c.).1  The  Prologue  to 
Ecclesiasticus,  written,  probably,  about  132  b.c.,  refers  several  times 
to  the  Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  in  such  a  way  as  to 
imply  that  the  Greek  Bible,  including  the  Psalter,  was  already  prac- 
tically  complete  at  the  time  at  which  the  Prologue  was  composed. 
It  would  be  very  unlikely  that  psalms  written  in  Hebrew  subsequently 


1  In  I  Par.  16,36  the  doxology  which  marks  the  close  of  the  fourth  book 
of  psalms  is  quoted.  If  this  quotation  is  a  part  of  the  original  text  of  Paralipo¬ 
menon,  and  if  the  doxology  in  Ps.  105, 48  is,  like  the  doxologies  at  the  close  of  the 
other  psalm-books,  in  reality  a  verse  editorially  added  to  mark  the  end  of  a  book, 
it  will  have  to  be  admitted  that  the  psalm-books  existed  practically  as  we  know 
them  about  300  b.c.  This  would,  of  course,  exclude  Maccabean  psalms.  The 
whole  question  of  Maccabean  psalms  is  exhaustively  discussed  in  Nikel’s 
Alttestamentliche  Abhandlungen  by  Goossens  in  his  essay,  Die  Frage  nach 
makkabtiischen  Psalmen,  1914. 


INTRODUCTION 


XVII 


to  170  b.c.  could  have  been  generally  received  as  canonical  and  then 
translated  into  Greek  in  Egypt  before  132  b.c.  But  whether  we 
accept  300  b.c.  or  (let  us  say)  150  b.c.,  as  the  date  before  which  the 
Psalter  must  have  been  completely  collected,  it  vili  stili  be  true  that 
a  great  interval  of  time  separates  the  earliest  psalms  from  the  latest. 
We  should,  then,  expect  to  find  in  the  Hebrew  psalms  traces  of  the 
changes  which  must  have  taken  place  in  the  Hebrev  language  through- 
out  six  or  seven  hundred  years.  Yet  there  are  very  few  such  traces. 
Their  absence  must  be  due,  then,  to  some  extent,  at  least,  to  editorial 
activity.  It  is  scarcely  thinkable  that  David  would  have  used  pre- 
cisely  the  same  forms,  and  modes  of  expression  as  poets  who  lived  in 
the  post-exilic  period  between  400  b.c.  and  300  b.c.  Yet  the  student 
of  the  Hebrew  text  of  the  psalms  cannot  discern,  except  very  vaguely, 
any  special  linguistic  features  by  which  he  might  identify  one  psalm 
as  early,  and  another  as  late.  It  is  true  that  psalms  sometimes 
show  what  one  might  call  ‘  modernising  ’  tendencies  in  language — 
such,  for  instance,  as  the  use  of  forms  and  words  borrowed  from 
Aramaic.  Yet  even  in  these  psalms  the  apparently  late  features  may 
be  due  to  a  late  editorial  hand,  or,  what  modern  scholars  regard  as 
later  forms  or  borrowings  from  Aramaic,  may  be  really  echoes  of 
popular  speech,  and  very  ancient,  appearing  to  be  modern  only  be- 
cause  we  know  so  little  of  the  popular  speech  of  Israel  in  any  period. 

The  uniformi ty  in  language  and  style  of  the  Psalter  must  be 
due,  then,  to  some  extent,  to  the  work  of  later  editors.  Besides 
such  editorial  change  as  the  Hebrew  psalms  underwent  before  they 
took  the  form  which  they  have  in  the  existing  Hebrew  Psalter,  they 
were  liable,  like  ali  other  frequently  copied  ancient  texts,  to  cor- 
ruptions  at  the  hands  of  scribes.  We  have  no  ground  for  supposing 
that  a  special  Providence  preserved  the  Hebrew  Psalter  from  the 
corruption  to  which  other  portions  of  the  Hebrew  Bible  were  certainly 
exposed.  Some  notion  can  be  formed  of  how  the  Hebrew  Psalter 
fared  in  its  transmission  by  studying  the  few  instances  which  exist 
in  the  Hebrew  Bible  of  double  recensions  of  the  same  psalm-text. 
Thus,  for  instance,  the  poem  which  appears  as  Psalm  17  is  found  also 
in  II  Kings  22,  and  it  can  readily  be  seen  by  comparing  the  two 
texts,  that  the  primitive  text  of  the  poem  has  suffered  so  much  cor¬ 
ruption  that  it  cannot  be  completely  recovered.  A  comparison  of 
the  text  of  Ps.  13  with  that  of  Ps.  52,  and  of  Ps.  39, 14^  with  Ps.  69 
will  also  help  to  throw  light  on  the  transmission  of  the  Hebrew  text 
of  the  Psalter.  It  is  ciear,  indeed,  that  the  text  of  the  Hebrew  Psalter 
was  as  liable  to  modification  as  any  other  part  of  the  Hebrew  text 
of  the  Bible.1  That  modern  scholars,  Catholic  as  well  as  non- 


1  C/.  IV  Kings  i8,13-2o,19  with  Isaias  36-39,  or  IV  Kings  24, 17-^  with 
Jeremias  52  for  illustration  of  the  fortunes  of  other  portions  of  the  Hebrew 


INTRODUCTION 


xviii 

Catholic,"  admit  that  the  primitive  Hebrew  text  of  the  psalms  has 
suffered  in  its  transmission,  will  be  ciear  to  any  one  who  takes  the 
trouble  to  look  for  a  moment  into  any  modern  commentary  on  the 
Hebrew  Psalter. 

All  ancient  much  copied  texts  underwent  changes  in  the  course 
of  time  through  the  ordinary  frailties  of  copyists.  But  the  Hebrew 
Bible  was,  by  its  peculiar  history,  liable  to  more  than  the  ordinary 
vicissi tudes  of  much  copied  texts.  All  those  portions  of  the  Bible 
which  were  composed  in  the  pre-exilic  period  (before  586  b.c.),  and, 
probably,  some  which  were  first  published  in  the  post-exilic  period, 
were  written  in  a  script  quite  different  from  the  form  of  Hebrew 
character  which  is  used  in  modern  Hebrew  Bibles.  Up  to  the  time 
of  the  Exile  (586  b.c.),  and  for  some  time  following  it,  the  Hebrews 
used  a  script  which,  because  it  was  used  at  an  early  period  by  all 
the  Semitic  peoples  of  Palestine,  is  called  the  Canaanite  script.  The 
special  form  of  this  script  which  was  used  by  Israelite  scribes  is  known 
to  have  remained  in  general  use  among  the  Jews  until  the  time  of 
Nehemias  (about  440  b.c.).  The  Samaritans,  who  set  up  their  special 
religious  community  not  long  subsequently  to  this,  retained  for  their 
Pentateuch  the  old  form  of  script.  We  may  infer,  therefore,  that 
the  Jews  were  stili  using  the  old  ‘  Canaanite  ’  alphabet  at  the  time 
when  the  Samaritans  were  formally  distinguished  as  a  religious  com¬ 
munity  from  Israel.  Even  after  that  date  the  old  Canaanite  character 
did  not  altogether  disappear,  for  it  was  stili  used  for  certain  purposes 
(such,  for  instance,  as  legends  on  coins)  even  in  the  Christian  period. 
Besides  the  form  of  the  Canaanite  script  which  had  remained  in  use 
in  Palestine  down  to  the  post-exilic  period,  there  was  another  which 
had  developed  among  the  Arameans,* 1  and  had  become  so  modified 
that  it  could  no  longer  be  read  by  a  scribe  who  knew  only  the  Canaanite 
alphabet  of  Palestine.  The  Arameans  had  attained  to  great  im- 
portance  by  the  time  that  the  Persian  Empire  was  established  after 
the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  b.c. — the  century  of  the  Babylonian 
Exile.  So  important  were  the  Arameans  in  the  Persian  Empire  that 
their  language — Aramaic,  was  used  as  a  sort  of  lingua  franca  for 
administrative  purposes  throughout  the  Western  provinces  of  that 
empire.  With  the  Aramaic  language  went,  of  course,  the  Aramaic 
alphabet,  and  in  the  post-exilic  period  this  alphabet  came  to  be  adopted 
even  by  the  Jews  in  Palestine.  The  Jews  called  the  Aramaic  script 


Old  Testament.  The  Greek  (Septuagint)  text  of  Jeremias  omits  about  an  eighth 
of  the  present  Hebrew  text,  and  in  Ezechiel  the  arrangement  of  the  Greek  text 
differs  completely  from  that  of  the  Hebrew  in  chapters  36-40.  Every  student  of 
the  Hebrew  Bible  is  familiar  with  the  necessity  of  frequent  textual  emendation. 
Correction  of  text  would  not  be  necessary  if  the  original  text  had  been  faithfully 
preserved. 

1  Vid.  infra,  p.  xxii. 


INTRODUCTION 


XIX 


‘  Assyrian  ’  (which  was  for  them  the  same  as  ‘  Syrian,'  i.e.  Aramaic)  : 
they  also  called  it,  because  of  its  appearance  as  compared  with  their 
own  script,  the  ‘  square '  alphabet.  It  is  this *  *  Assyrian  '  or  square 
character  which  (in  a  somewhat  evolved  form)  appears  in  our  modern 
Hebrew  Bibi  es.  When  Our  Lord  says  in  Matthew  5, 18  :  ‘  Till  heaven 
and  earth  pass,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  not  pass  of  the  Law,  till  all 
be  fulfilled,”  His  words  are  intelligible  only  in  reference  to  the 

*  square  ’  script ;  theyod  (iota,  jot)  of  the  older  script  is  by  no  means 
a  small  character,  it  is,  however,  the  smallest  letter  of  the  (evolved) 

*  square  *  alphabet. 

It  is  obvious  from  all  this  that  such  portions  of  the  Hebrew  Bible 
as  were  written  before  400  b.c.  have  passed  from  one  form  of  script 
to  another.  Now  in  the  older  Canaanite  script  there  were  letters 
which  differed  from  each  other  but  slightly  in  shape,  and  between 
which,  therefore,  confusion  was  easily  possible.  The  same  thing  is 
true  of  certain  letters  in  the  ‘  Aramaic  '  or  ‘  square  ’  script.  Further- 
more,  there  was  a  possibility  of  confusion  between  characters  of  the 
older  and  characters  of  the  later  script.  Hence  poems  of  the  Psalter 
composed  before  the  change  of  alphabet  had  taken  place  in  Palestine, 
were  liable,  in  a  special  way,  to  corruptions  at  the  hand  of  scribes. 

It  must  be  constantly  remembered,  further,  that  in  neither  the 
older  nor  the  Aramaic  alphabet  were  there  signs  for  vowel-sounds  ; 
both  alphabets  consisted  of  consonants  merely.  Hence  in  order  to 
be  able  to  read  a  Biblical  text  written  in  either  script  a  reader  needed 
to  be  already  familiar  with  the  traditional  interpretation  of  the  text.1 
Again,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  it  was  customary  in  the  early  period  to 
write  the  purely  consonantal  text  of  the  Bible  without  any  separation 
or  distincti on  of  words. 2  A  further  important  point  to  be  remembered 
is  that  at  the  time  when  the  Bible  was  probably  most  liable  to  editorial 
modification  and  to  corruption  at  the  hands  of  copyists — viz.  about 
400  b.c.,  the  original  language  of  the  Bible  was  rapidly  ceasing  to  be 
the  vernacular  of  the  Jews.  Obviously  in  proportion  as  Hebrew 
ceased  to  be  widely  spoken,  the  people  (and  even  the  scribes)  would 
become  less  sensitive  to  changes  in  the  traditional  text. 


1  One  can  illustrate  for  oneself  the  difficulties  which  would  arise  in  the 
attempt  to  read  an  unfamiliar  consonantal  text,  by  taking,  let  us  say,  the  con¬ 
sonants  of  some  familiar  Latin  word,  and  thinking  out  the  various  words  which 
they  might  represent.  The  consonants  of  mors,  for  example,  are  the  consonants 
of  mars,  maris  (mas),  maris  (mare),  mores,  moris,  murus,  muros,  mures,  mirus , 
miris,  miros,  miras,  moros,  mires,  etc.,  etc.  An  equally  interesting  experiment 
could  be  made  with  the  consonants  of  mens,  or  labor.  Of  course,  in  any  given 
sentence  there  could  not  be  unlimited  freedom  of  choice. 

*In  the  text  of  Ps.  43, 5,  for  instance,  the  consonants  ’  l  h  m  $  w  h  were  read 
by  the  Greek  translators  'elohai  mesawweh,  while  the  Massoretes,  dividing 
differently,  read  ' Hohim  sawweh  (Command,  O  God!).  The  Greek  reading  means 
‘  My  God,  who  commands.' 


XX 


INTRODUCTION 


When  ali  these  points  are  considered,  it  will  be  evident  that  the 
text  of  the  Psalter  may  have  departed in  many  points  from its  primitive 
form  by  300  b.c.  Departures  from  primitive  purity  of  text  may 
have  been  chiefly  due  to  inevitable  misunderstandings  and  confusions 
of  copyists.  But  there  will  also  have  been  intentional  changes  of 
text  by  ‘  tendencious  '  scribes ;  1  and  the  process,  so  familiar  in 
Biblical  texts  outside  the  Psalter,  of  incorporating  marginal  glosses 
in  the  text  will  surely  also  have  been  employed  by  copyists  of  the 
Hebrew  Psalter.  2  That  the  textual  tradition  of  the  Hebrew  Psalter 
was  not  quite  uniform  in  the  pre-Christian  period  will  be  clearer 
when  we  have  considered  the  Greek  translation  of  the  Psalter.  But 
it  is  important  to  realise  that  long  before  the  Greek  translation  of 
the  Psalter  was  made  (long,  that  is,  before  250-200  b.c.)  the  text  of 
the  Psalter  had  been  mishandled  by  critics  and  copyists.  Hence, 
even  when  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  texts  of  the  psalms  agree,  it  may 
stili  be  lawful,  or  even  necessary,  to  postulate  the  presence  of  a  cor- 
ruption  in  the  text. 

The  existing  form  of  the  Hebrew  Psalter  with  ali  its  elaborate 
apparatus  of  vowel-points,  and  accents,  and  minutely  recorded 
peculiarities,  is  the  outcome  of  the  work  of  Jewish  scholars  from  the 
second  to  the  tenth  century  of  our  era.  The  critical  work  out  of 
which  the  modern  Hebrew  Bible  has  grown  began  as  far  back  as  the 
time  of  the  Emperor  Hadrian  (117-138  a.d.)  :  it  continued  until  the 
tenth  century.  The  introduction  of  vowel-points  into  the  consonantal 
text  was  carri ed  out  about  the  seventh  century.  Just  as  the  later 
Hebrew  alphabet  was  an  adaptation  of  the  Aramaic  character,  so 
the  Hebrew  vowel-points  were  borrowed  from  an  Aramaic  source : 
they  were  taken  over  from  the  Syriae  scribes. 

Since  all  the  work  done  in  fixing  the  text  of  the  Hebrew  Bible 
was  an  attempt  to  crystallise  the  best  tradition  as  to  that  text,  the 
fixation  of  the  Hebrew  text  is  called  Massorah  3  (‘  tradition  '),  and 
the  scholars  who  established  the  present  Hebrew  text  are  known  as 
the  '  Massoretes/  and  the  received  Hebrew  text  of  the  Bible  is  called 
the  ‘  Massoretic  *  text. 

As  far  as  we  can  ascertain,  the  Massoretic  text  differs  scarcely 
at  all  from  the  form  of  Hebrew  text  current  in  St.  Jerome's  day 
(about  end  of  fourth  century),  and  it  is  likely  that  it  enshrines,  in 


1  Compare  the  substitution  of  ’ Elohim  for  Yahweh  noted  above. 

2  See,  in  this  connection,  the  elever,  if  not  quite  convincing,  study  by 
Pfarrer  Hellebronth  in  the  Biblische  Zeitschrift,  1915,  PP-  296-311,  Spuren 
uralter  textkritischer  Noten  im  masoretischen  Texte  des  Psalters. 

3  The  form  massorah  has  developed  from  the  earlier  form  massoreth  (like 
kapporeth,  ‘  propitiatory ’).  Many  scholars  insist  on  writing  masorah — but  this 
is  almost  certainly  wrong  :  massorah  is  derived  from  the  late  Hebrew  verb 
masar, '  to  teach/  ‘  to  hand  on  a  tradition/  and  not  from  the  verb  'asar,  ‘  to  bind/ 
The  form  massorah  has  been  followed  in  this  book. 


INTRODUCTION 


XXI 


general,  the  textual  tradition  of  the  beginning  of  the  second  Christian 
century — the  date  at  which  genuine  Massoretic  activity  began. 
Many  of  the  differences  which  the  student  will  discover  between  the 
Massoretic  and  the  Greek  Psalter  are  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Mas- 
soretes  have  followed  a  textual  tradition  different  from  that  accepted 
by  the  Greek  translators.  There  must  have  been  a  considerable 
variety  of  traditions  in  the  pre-Massoretic  period,  both  as  to  the 
vocalising  of  the  text,  and  the  division  of  the  consonantal  text  into 
words.  Certain  peculiarities  of  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch  and  of 
some  of  the  Old  Testament  passages  quoted  in  the  New  Testament 
suggest  almost  inevitably  that  the  pre-Massoretic  text  existed  in 
several  recensions.  The  aim  of  the  Massoretes  was  to  discover  and 
perpetuate  the  best  textual  tradition  of  their  time,  and,  incidentally, 
to  bring  about  the  disappearance  of  readings  of  which  they  did  not 
approve.  That  they  were  leamed,  industrious,  and  conscientious  is 
certain  ;  but  they  were,  after  ali,  fallible,  and  their  methods  had 
neither  the  objectivity  nor  the  systematic  completeness  of  modern 
scholarship.  Hence  we  are  free  to  question  the  perfection  of  the 
Massoretic  Psalter ;  we  are  not  bound  to  regard  its  text  as  always 
identical  with  the  original  text  of  the  psalms.  We  are  free  to  emend 
the  Massoretic  Psalter  where  it  seems  reasonable  to  do  so,  and  we  are 
therefore  free  to  prefer  to  it  at  times  the  recension  of  the  Hebrew 
Psalter  which  was  used  by  the  first  translators  of  the  psalms  into- 
Greek — especially  as  the  Greek  (Septuagint)  Psalter  is  older  by  several 
centuries  than  the  Hebrew  text  which  was  critically  fixed  by  the 
Massoretes. 

In  spite,  however,  of  ali  the  possibilities  of  corruption  in  the 
Massoretic  Psalter,  its  text  is,  in  general,  intelligible  and  reliable. 
Without  its  help  it  would  be  often  practically  impossible  to  under- 
stand  the  Greek  (Septuagint)  or  Latin  (Vulgate)  Psalter.  Though  it 
has  been  often  asserted  both  by  ancient  and  modern  scholars  that 
the  Massoretes  in  some  cases  falsified  the  text  of  passages  which  were 
supposed  to  favour  the  claims  of  Christianity  against  Judaism,  there 
is  no  real  evidence  to  support  this  charge.  Even  in  passages  like 
Ps.  15, 10  {nec  dabis  sanctum  tuum  videre  corruptionem,  where  the 
Massoretic  text  has  *  Thy  holy  ones  ’)  and  Ps.  21, 17  {Foderunt  manus 
meas  et  pedes  meos,  where  the  Massoretes  read,  ‘  Like  a  lion,  my  hands 
and  my  feet  ’)  the  reading  followed  by  the  Greek  (and  Vulgate)  Bible 
is  carefully  recorded  on  the  margin  by  the  Massoretes. 


XXII 


INTRODUCTION 


IV. — ANCIENT  VeRSIONS  OF  THE  PSALTER1 
(a)  THE  T ARGUM 

It  has  been  already  stated  that  in  the  post-exilic  period  ( i.e .  after 
538  b.c.)  Hebrew  ceased  to  be  used  as  the  vernacular  in  Palestine. 
Its  place  was  taken  by  a  closely  allied  language  of  the  Semitic  group — 
Aramaic.  Aramaic  was  the  speech  of  a  people  which  appears  under 
the  name  Arimi  or  Ahlame  in  cuneiform  inscripti ons  of  the  fourteenth 
century  b.c.  The  Arameans  were  at  that  time,  apparenti y,  a  nomad 
people  of  the  Syrian  desert  on  the  south-western  border  of  Babylonia.2 
By  the  time  when  the  Persian  Empire  was  being  established  (middle 
of  sixth  century  b.c.)  the  language  of  the  Arameans  had  come  to  be 
used  as  a  general  medium  of  communication  throughout  a  great  part 
of  the  Semitic  East.  In  the  Western  portions  of  the  Persian  Empire 
it  was  used  as  the  language  of  administration  and  commerce.  As  a 
sort  of  imperial  language  it  gradually  superseded  the  local  vernaculars 
Assyrian,  Phoenician  and  Hebrew.  Before  the  coming  of  Our  Lord, 
Aramaic  had  completely  ousted  Hebrew  as  the  Semitic  vernacular 
of  Palestine.  We  can  see  from  the  Aramaic  sections  of  the  books  of 
Esdras  and  Daniel  that  Aramaic  was  used  even  as  a  literary  language 
by  the  Jews  at  the  time  when  those  books  were  written.  It  is  possible 
that  Hebrew  was  not  used  at  all  colloqui ally  in  the  towns  of  Palestine 
in  the  post-exilic  period.  Nehemias  made  an  attempt  to  re-establish 
the  old  language  at  the  time  of  the  restoration  of  Jerusalem  (Nehemias 
13, 24>25),  but  his  efforts  were  not,  as  far  as  we  can  judge,  very  suc- 
cessful.  A  military  colony  of  Jews  which  was  established  on  Ele¬ 
phantine,  an  island  in  the  Nile  near  Assuan,  in  the  sixth  century  b.c. 
has  left  us  substantial  literary  remains  from  which  we  can  see  that 
the  vernacular  of  the  colony  was  not  Hebrew,  but  Aramaic.  It  may 
be  inferred,  obviously,  that  the  Palestinian  district  from  which  this 
colony  had  come  was  Aramaic-speaking  already  in  the  sixth  century 
b.c.3 


1  Only  those  ancient  versions  are  here  considered  which  throw  light  on  the 
history  of  the  Vulgate  Psalter.  The  Targum  is  described  because  its  origin 
is  similar  to  the  origin  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  Psalters,  and  the  Greek  Psalter 
is  dealt  with  because  it  is,  as  will  be  seen,  the  immediate  source  of  the  Latin 
Psalter.  The  Syriae  and  Coptic  Psalters,  though  often  useful  in  matters  of 
exegesis,  are  of  no  particular  interest  for  the  genesis  of  the  Vulgate  Psalter. 

2  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  Genesis  25, 20  the  relatives  of  Abraham 
in  Paddan-Aram  are  called  Arameans. 

3  The  various  documents  left  by  the  Jewish  colony  in  Elephantine  (and 
also,  apparently,  in  Assuan)  may  be  studied  in  Sayce  and  Cowley,  Aramaic 
Papyri  discovered  at  Assuan .’  London,  1906  ;  Sachau,  Drei  aramdische  Papy- 
rusurkunden  aus  Elephantine  (Proceedings  of  Berlin  Academy,  1907)  ;  Sachau, 
Aramdische  Papyrus  und  Ostraka,  Leipzig,  1911.  From  IV  Kings  18, 26  and 
Isaias  36,n-la  it  may  be  inferred  that  Aramaic,  though  it  was  already  a 


INTRODUCTION 


XXlll 


Though  Hebrew  ceased  to  be  spoken  in  the  later  post-exilic  period, 
it  stili  continued  to  be  studied,  and  to  be  used  as  a  literary  medium 
by  scribes  and  scholars.  Thus  the  Book  of  Ecclesiasticus  was  written 
in  good  Hebrew  probably  about  200  b.c.,  and  several  other  works 
were  composed  in  Hebrew  during  the  two  centuries  preceding  the 
birth  of  Christ.  Hebrew  was  the  language  of  the  learned  com- 
mentaries  on  the  Jewish  Law  written  by  Jewish  scholars  in  the  early 
Christian  period — but  that  Hebrew  of  the  schools  tended  steadily 
to  assume  a  relation  towards  classical,  or  biblical,  Hebrew  similar  to 
that  which  the  Latin  of  mediaeval  writers  holds  to  that  of  Cicero  or 
Livy.  The  Hebrew  of  the  oldest  Rabbinical  texts  of  the  Christian 
period  shows  a  very  extraordinary  degeneration  when  it  is  com- 
pared  with  even  the  latest  pre-Christian  texts.  The  reason  of  this 
is,  probably,  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  pre-Christian  writers 
were  stili  near  enough  to  the  old  days  to  be  able  to  detach  themselves 
almost  fully  from  the  Aramaic  which  Was  spoken  around  them,  while 
the  Jewish  writers  of  the  Christian  period  some  generations  later  wrote 
under  the  unrelieved  pressure  of  the  Aramaic  vernacular  of  their 
time. 

The  post-exilic  period  saw  the  disappearance  of  Hebrew  as  a 
vernacular :  it  also  saw  a  great  development  of  the  Synagogue  and 
its  system  of  study,  prayer,  and  worship.  As  Hebrew  became  less 
and  less  familiar  to  the  people,  the  profit  which  they  derived  from  the 
synagogal  reading  and  exposition  of  the  Law  and  the  other  Hebrew 
Scriptures  diminished.  If,  then,  the  Synagogue-system  were  to  be 
continued,  it  was  plainly  necessary  to  furnish  the  people  with  some 
sort  of  translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  Aramaic.  At  first  such 
translation  remained  purely  oral.  When  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  were 
being  read  in  the  synagogal  Service  an  interpreter  was  at  hand,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  translate  into  Aramaic  each  verse  (later,  each  section) 
immediately  after  it  had  been  recited  in  Hebrew.  The  interpreter 
was  not  permitted  to  keep  befote  him  a  text — either  Hebrew  or  Ara¬ 
maic.  It  was,  indeed,  expressly  forbidden  to  put  in  writing  an 
Aramaic  translation  of  those  parts  of  the  Bible  which  were  usually 
read  in  the  Synagogue.  However,  as  the  Aramaic  version  became 
more  and  more  necessary  for  the  people,  a  written  Aramaic  Old  Testa- 
ment  would  have  become  more  and  more  necessary  for  those  who  were 
in  charge  of  the  synagogal  Services.  Thus  ultimately  an  Aramaic 


diplomatists’  lingua  f ranca  in  the  eighth  century  b.c.,  was  not  then  widely 
spoken  among  the  Hebrews.  Some  writers  stili  persist  in  calling  Aramaic 
*  Syro-Chaldaic,'  and  seem  to  think  that  it  was  a  kind  of  jargon  arising  from 
the  corruption  of  Hebrew  by  ‘  Chaldaic  '  elements  during  the  Exile.  Aramaic 
is,  of  course,  a  fully  developed  language  of  the  Semitic  group — as  independent 
of  any  other  language  of  the  group,  as  Irish  is,  for  instance,  of  Welsh  in  the 
Celtic  group. 


XXIV 


INTRODUCTION 


translation  of  many  Old  Testamen t  books  was  written — when  pre- 
cisely  we  do  not  know.  The  different  parts  of  the  Old  Testament 
were  translated  at  different  times  and  with  varying  accuracy. 

The  Synagogue  ofhcial  whose  duty  it  was  to  render  the  Hebrew 
lectiones  into  Aramaic  was  called  the  MHhargem,  or  MHhurgaman 
(‘  Interpreter  ’  ;  cf.  Dragoman)  from  targem,  ‘  to  translate/  His 
rendering  was  called  Targum  translation  ’).  Thus  the  Aramaic 
version  of  the  Old  Testament  has  come  to  be  known  as  the  ‘  Targum/ 
It  will  be  noticed  as  an  interesting  point  in  connection  with  the 
Psalter  that  the  Gospels  represent  Our  Lord  as  quoting  Psalm  21,1  2  in 
Aramaic  :  Eloi  Eloi  lama  sabakhthanei.1 

The  use  of  Aramaic  in  that  great  hour  of  Our  Lord’s  life  when  He 
hung  on  the  Cross  would  suggest  that  a  Targum  to  the  Psalter  existed 
already  in  the  time  of  Christ.  The  Targum  or  Aramaic  version  of 
the  psalms  which  has  come  down  to  us  is  of  comp arati vely  little 
value  except  as  a  specimen  of  early  Rabbinical  exegesis — for  it  is 
often  a  paraphrase  and  commentary  rather  than  a  translation. 


( b )  THE  GREEK  PSALTER 

The  existence  of  the  Targum,  or  Aramaic  Old  Testament,  was 
due,  as  has  been  said,  to  the  disappearance  of  Hebrew  as  a  vernacular 
in  the  post-exilic  period,  and  to  the  resulting  necessity  of  providing 
the  worshippers  in  the  synagogues  with  a  version  of  the  Scriptures 
which  they  could  understand.  But  throughout  the  period  which 
followed  the  Exile,  and,  possibly,  even  during  and  before  the  Exile, 
there  were  many  Jews  who,  though  they  were  loyal  to  the  Jewish 
religion  and  practised  it  as  well  as  they  could,  spoke  neither  Hebrew 
nor  Aramaic.  Reference  was  made  above  to  the  presence  in  Egypt 
in  the  sixth  pre-Christian  century,  of  Jewish  colonists  whose  language 
was  Aramaic.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  many  Jews  were  settled 
in  other  parts  of  Egypt  in  the  same  century,  and  it  is  fair  to  assume 
that  those  of  them  who  settled  in  the  north,  within  easy  reach  of  the 
civilisation  of  the  cities  of  Lower  Egypt,  would  gradu ally  have 
dropped  their  Semitic  vernacular.2 


1  Mark  15,34 ;  Matt.  27/®  has  for  t\wi,  The  Hebrew  of  Psalm  21, 2 

has  ‘Eli,  ‘Eli  lamah  ‘a zabhtani . 

2After  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  in  586  b.c.  a  great  number  of  Jews  fled  to 
Egypt  against  the  advice  of  the  prophet  Jeremias  (Jer.  41-44).  These  exiles 
settled  in  different  parts  of  Egypt — some  in  various  districts  of  Lower  Egypt, 
and  some  even  in  Upper  Egypt  (Patros,  —  in  Egyptian  p'-t’-rsi,  ‘  the  Southern 
land’).  It  is  probable  that  Jewish  emigration  to  Egypt  continued  during  the 
Persian  period.  There  are  indications  that  large  numbers  of  Jewish  soldiers 
served  in  the  Persian  armies  which  advanced  into  Egypt  in  the  time  of  Cambyses 
(525  b.c.).  It  is  known  that  Alexander  the  Great,  for  many  reasons,  showed 


INTRODUCTION 


XXV 


As  Greek  thought  and  speech  became  more  and  more  predominant 
in  Egypt,  the  Jews  who  lived  there  will  have  found  themselves  com- 
pelled  either  to  speak  Greek  as  well  as  Aramaic,  or  to  abandon  Aramaic 
and  use  Greek  as  a  sole  vernacular.  Great  numbers  must  have 
taken  the  latter  course,  for  in  the  third  century  b.c.  the  synagogal 
authorities  in  Alexandria  found  it  necessary  to  provide  the  wor- 
shippers  in  their  Synagogues  with  a  Greek  version  of  the  Scriptures. 
The  Greek  translation  of  the  Bible  was  thus,  like  the  Targum,  due  to 
the  needs  of  the  Synagogue :  it  was  an  effort  to  make  the  Scriptures 
intelligible  to  a  Jewish  Diaspora  whose  language  was  the  Koivrj,  or 
generaily  used  Hellenistic  dialect  of  the  time.1  The  whole  of  the 
Hebrew  Old  Testament  was  not  translated  into  Greek  at  once.  The 
Pentateuch  was  first  rendered,  and  later  at  various  dates,  the  pro- 
phetical  and  other  books  were  done  into  Greek.  It  is  not  possible 
to  determine  preci sely  the  date  of  any  Greek  book  of  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment.  The  different  books  of  the  translation  are  different  in  their 
literary  value,  and  vary  also  greatly  in  their  fidelity  as  renderings  of 
the  Hebrew. 

There  is  no  reasonable  ground  for  doubting  that  the  Greek  version 
of  the  Bible,  like  the  Targum,  was  due  primarily  to  the  practical 
needs  of  the  Synagogue.  A  very  different  notion  of  its  origin  is, 
however,  given  to  us  by  the  ancient  document  known  as  the  ‘  Letter 
of  Aristeas  to  Philocrates/  2  According  to  this  document  Ptolemy  II, 
Philadelphus,  King  of  Egypt  (285-247  b.c.),  at  the  suggestion  of  his 
librari  an,  Demetrius  of  Phalerum,  decided  to  have  a  translation  of 
the  Jewish  Laws  made  for  the  royal  library  in  Alexandria.  Ac- 
cordingly  he  sent  an  embassy  (of  which  Aristeas  is  said  to  have  been 
a  member)  to  Eleazar,  the  High  Priest  at  Jerusalem,  requesting  that 


favour  to  the  Jews.  When  he  founded  Alexandria  (in  332  b.c.)  he  assigned  a 
special  place  in  the  new  city  to  Jewish  colonists,  and  admitted  them  to  full 
citizenship  (Josephus,  Antiquities,  xix.  5,  2  ;  Contra  Apion,  ii.  4 ;  Bellum 
Judaicum  ii.  18,  7.).  The  Jewish  colony  of  Alexandria  grew  and  flourished 
under  the  Ptolemies.  Ptolemy  I,  it  is  said  (Jos.  Antiquities  xii.  1,  1),  carried 
off  great  numbers  of  Jews  from  Palestine  whom  he  established  in  Alexandria. 
The  Jewish  colony  at  Alexandria  became  so  well  known  for  its  prosperity  that 
many  Jews  from  Palestine  continued  to  emigrate  to  Egypt  throughout  the 
Greek  period.  In  Alexandria  the  Jews  were  permitted  to  live  according  to 
their  national  laws  and  customs.  Their  religion  was  not  interfered  with,  and 
hence  their  synagogues  became  very  numerous.  At  the  time  of  Philo  (born 
about  20  b.c.)  two  of  the  five  districts  of  Alexandria  were  called  ‘  Jewish  '  because 
they  were  occupied  chiefly  by  Jews  (Philo,  In  Flaccum,  8).  Philo  estimates  at 
a  million  the  total  number  of  Jews  living  in  Egypt  in  his  day  ( ibid .  6),  and 
modern  inquiry  has  helped  to  confirm  this  estimate.  See,  Schurer,  Geschichte 
des  jiidischen  Volkes,  III.  p.  38/7.;  Swete,  Introd.  pp.  3/7. 

1  Greek  was  the  language  of  the  synagogal  Service  not  merely  in  Egypt, 
but  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  Jewish  Diaspora  in  the  two  pre-Christian 
centuries.  Vid.  Schurer  III.  140. 

2  A  critical  edition  of  the  Greek  text  of  Aristeas  is  printed  as  an  Appendix 
in  Swete's  Introduction. 


XXVI 


INTRODUCTION 


there  might  be  sent  to  him  Jewish  elders  who  would  be  able  to  trans¬ 
late  the  Pentateuch  into  Greek.  Eleazar  received  the  embassy  with 
friendship,  and  sent  to  Ptolemy  seventy-two  elders — six  from  each 
tribe.  With  them  Eleazar  sent  a  copy  of  the  Law  written  in  letters 
of  gold  on  rolls  composed  of  skins.  When  the  seventy-two  came  to 
Egypt  they  soon  set  to  work  on  the  translation,  and  completed  it 
in  exactly  seventy-two  days.  The  story  contained  in  the  Letter  of 
Aristeas  was  enlarged  in  the  patristic  period  into  a  legend  which 
ascribed  the  Greek  version  of  the  entire  Old  Testament  (and  not 
merely  of  the  Pentateuch)  to  the  seventy-two,  and  wondrous  features 
were  added  to  the  narrative  of  Aristeas  which  were  intended  to  show 
that  the  translators  worked  under  the  influence  of  divine  inspiration. 
The  story  of  Aristeas  has  given  rise  to  the  popular  title  of  the 
earliest  Greek  Bible.  Seventy-two  Jewish  scholars  had  produced  it. 
Hence  it  was  called  ‘  The  version  according  to  the  Seventy  * ;  and  at 
an  early  period  it  was  commonly  referred  to  as  ‘  The  Seventy  ' — just 
as  we  now  call  it,  the  ‘  Septuagint/ 

Modern  scholarship  does  not  accept  the  Letter  of  Aristeas  as 
genuine.  The  Letter,  however,  is  certainly  correct  in  putting  the 
beginnings  of  the  Greek  Bible  in  the  third  century  b.c.  The  first 
part  of  the  Hebrew  Bible — the  Law  (Pentateuch),  will  have  been 
translated  about  250  b.c.  The  second  and  third  parts  of  the  Bible — • 
the  ‘  Prophets  ’  and  ‘  Writings/  were  translated  probably  between 
250  B.c.  and  200  b.c.  The  Letter  of  Aristeas  was  written  about 
100  b.c.  It  shows  that  at  that  date  the  Greek  Old  Testament  re¬ 
ceived  in  Egypt  the  same  respect  as  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  did  in 
Jerusalem.1 


1  In  the  Prologue  to  Ecclesiasticus  there  are  indicatione  that  the  whole  of 
the  Hebrew  Old  Testament  had  been  rendered  into  Greek  before  that  Prologue 
was  written.  The  author  of  the  Prologue  says  (after  pleading  for  indulgence 
from  his  readers  should  they  find  his  translation  of  Ecclesiasticus  imperfect)  : 
‘  For  things  originally  spoken  in  Hebrew  have  not  the  same  force  in  them  when 
they  are  translated  into  another  tongue  ;  and  not  only  these,  but  the  Law 
itself,  and  the  Prophecies,  and  the  rest  of  the  books,  have  no  small  difference 
when  they  are  spoken  in  their  original  form.  Now  in  the  eighth  and  thirtieth 
year  under  king  Euergetes,  having  come  into  Egypt  and  continued  there,  I 
found  opportunity  for  no  small  instruction.  I,  therefore,  deemed  it  most 
necessary  myself  to  devote  some  zeal  and  loving  labour  to  the  interpretation 
of  this  book  ;  devoting,  indeed,  much  sleepless  care  and  skill  in  the  interval 
in  order,  having  brought  the  book  to  an  end,  to  publish  it  for  them  also  who  in 
the  land  of  their  sojourning  desire  to  be  lovers  of  learning,  being  already  pre- 
pared  in  respect  of  their  moral  culture  to  live  by  the  Law.' 

If  the  thirty-eighth  year  of  Euergetes  is  a  year  of  that  king’s  reign,  the 
reference  must  be  to  Euergetes  II  who  reigned,  partly  as  joint  ruler  and  partly 
as  sole  king,  for  fifty-four  years  (170-116  b.c.).  The  reign  of  Euergetes  I  lasted 
only  twenty-five  years  (247-222  b.c.).  The  thirty-eighth  year  of  the  reign  of 
Euergetes  II  would  be  132  b.c.,  and  if  that  is  the  year  referred  to  in  the  Pro¬ 
logue,  it  may  be  assumed  that  a  Greek  version  of  the  Law,  Prophets  and  *  other 
.books  '  (i. e.  of  the  Old  Testament  generally)  existed  in  132  b.c.  Though  it  is 


INTRODUCTION 


xxvii 

The  appearance  of  the  Greek  Bible  in  Egypt  must  have  been  a 
very  great  event  for  the  world  of  Greek  heathenism.  It  put  within 
reach  of  inquiring  Gentiles  the  treasure  of  Divine  revelation  contained 
in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  It  made  thus  accessible  to  the  philosophical 
mind  of  the  West  a  system  of  theology  and  a  theory  of  life  and  nature 
which,  in  essentials,  were  vastly  superior  to  the  achievements  of 
Greek  speculati on.  The  Greek  Bible  made  possible  a  vigor ous  and 
successful  mission  of  Judaism  among  the  Gentiles,  and  must  have 
served,  in  no  small  measure,  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  preaching  of 
Christi  ani  ty  to  the  Hellenist  world.1 

The  task  of  translating  the  Hebrew  Bible  into  Greek  was  a  difficult 
one — and  that  for  severa!  reasons.  The  Hebrew  Bible  was  a  purely 
oriental  work,  and  its  thought  could  not  be  readily  presented  in  a 
Greek  or  western  dress.  Again,  even  among  oriental  books  it  stood 
apart  because  of  its  intense  monotheism,  and  its  rejecti  on  of  most 
of  the  elements  of  ordinary  oriental  religion  and  cult.  This  made  it 
more  difficult  to  clothe  the  thought  of  the  Bible  in  Hellenistic  Greek 
than  it  would  have  been  to  render  into  a  western  language  a  Baby- 
lonian  or  Egyptian  religious  text.  It  must  be  remembered,  further, 
in  estimating  the  merits  of  the  Greek  Bible,  that  successful  translation 
implies  scholarship  and  breadth  of  view  :  it  implies  in  the  translator 
the  capacity  to  realise  precisely  the  meaning  of  the  original  and  to 
discover  in  the  language  of  the  version  such  words  and  phrases  as  will 
be  not  merely  verbal  equivalents  of  the  original,  but  actual  equiva- 
lents  in  their  power  to  suggest  to  the  readers  of  the  version  the  same 
association-contexts  as  the  original  suggested  to  those  for  whom  it 
was  composed.  Thus,  successful  translation  of  the  Old  Testament 
into  Greek  demanded  in  the  translators  a  complete  mastery  of  the 
Hebrew  language,  and  full  sympathy  with  the  Hebrew  point  of  view 
in  religion  and  philosophy  ;  it  also  demanded  complete  familiarity 
with  the  Greek  language  and  with  the  western  mind.  The  trans¬ 
lators  were  certainly  Jews,  and  were,  therefore,  sufhciently  in  sympathy 
with  the  Jewish  Outlook  and  the  general  attitude  of  the  Old  Testa- 


not  absolutely  certain  that  ‘  the  other  books  ’  include  the  Psalter,  that  is  the 
more  likely  view. 

It  has  been  held  also,  however,  that  the  Euergetes  of  the  Prologue  is  Euer- 
getes  I,  and  that  the  phrase  in  the  Greek  text  referring  to  the  thirty-eighth 
year  means  that  Euergetes  had  ascended  the  throne  of  Egypt  thirty-eight  years 
after  his  predecessor  Ptolemy  Philadelphus  (285-247  b.c.)  had  become  king. 
In  this  view  the  author  of  the  Prologue  speaks  of  himself  as  coming  to  Egypt 
in  the  thirty-eighth  year  after  the  accession  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  shortly 
after  Euergetes  I  had  become  king,  i.e.  in  247  b.c.  This  view  is  defended  by 
Hart  in  his  Ecclesiasticus  in  Greek,  pp.  249 ff.  It  would  make  the  Greek  version 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  Old  Testament  older  than  247  b.c. 

1  The  importance  of  the  Septuagint  as  a  preparation  for  the  Christian 
Mission  is  well  stated  by  Deissmann  in  his  essay,  Die  Hellenisierung  des  semitischen 
Monotheismus,  Neue  Jahrbiicher  fur  das  classische  Altertum,  1903,  p.  161-177. 


INTRODUCTION 


xxviii 

ment.  Yet,  strangely  enough,  it  can  be  gathered  from  their  work 
that  their  knowledge  of  Hebrew  was  not  thorough.  They  were, 
apparently,  more  familiar  with  Aramaic  than  with  Hebrew.  Further, 
it  would  seem  that  they  were  not  fully  alive  to  all  the  possibilities 
of  the  plastic  speech  of  Hellenism.  Hence  the  Septuagint  is  not 
perfect  as  a  translation,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  an  ancient  Gentile  reader, 
who  was  not  otherwise  familiar  with  Judaism,  would  have  been  able 
to  gather  from  the  versi on  a  meaning  even  approximately  as  full  as 
that  which  the  original  conveyed  of  old  to  the  Hebrew-speaking  Jews 
of  Palestine.  In  spite  of  its  Greek  dress  the  Bible  was  stili  an  oriental 
book.  In  the  Pentateuch  and  in  the  purely  narrative  sections  the 
translation  was  good  ;  but  in  the  difhcult  text  of  the  prophets  and 
psalms  the  Greek  was  often  a  merely  verbal  rendering  of  the  Hebrew 
— giving  comparatively  little  help  to  a  reader  who  had  not  already 
come  into  contact  with  Jewish  thought.  In  the  psalms,  in  particular, 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  merely  verbal  translation  without  much  effort 
to  penetrate  to  the  precise  religious  and  poetic  value  of  the  Hebrew 
Psalter.  That  the  translators  of  the  Psalter  were  more  familiar  with 
Aramaic  than  with  Hebrew  is  ciear  from  many  passages  in  which  the 
translation  is  explicable  only  on  the  supposition  that  Hebrew  words 
were  treated  as  if  they  were  Aramaic.  Indeed,  the  view  has  been 
frequently  put  forward  that  the  translators  of  the  Psalter  had  learned 
practically  all  the  Hebrew  they  knew  from  the  Hebrew  Pentateuch 
studied  with  the  help  of  the  already  published  Greek  Pentateuch.1 

It  would  be  difhcult  and  quite  outside  the  scope  of  this  work  to 
give  an  exact  statement  of  all  the  points  in  which  the  Septuagint 
fails  to  reproduce  fully  the  thought  of  the  Hebrew  Psalter.  A  few 
of  the  more  outstanding  defects  of  the  Greek  Psalter  which  appear 
also  in  the  Vulgate  may,  however,  be  noted  here. 

Probably  the  most  frequently  occurring  defect  of  the  Septuagint 
Psalter  is  its  imperfect  rendering  of  Hebrew  verbs.  The  verbal  system 
in  Hebrew  is  quite  unlike  the  verbal  system  of  Greek — particularly 
in  regard  to  tense — forms.  In  Biblical  Hebrew  there  are — apparently 
at  least — two  tenses,  the  so-called  perfect  and  imperfect  (or  future). 
In  reality  the  Hebrew  perfect  and  imperfect  do  not  express  the  time 
at  which  the  action  of  the  verb  takes  place,  but  chiefly  the  degree  of 
completeness  which  belongs  to  the  action.  Hence  both  perfect  and 
imperfect  can  refer  to  past,  present  or  future  time  inasmuch  as  they 


1  On  the  Septuagint  as  a  translation  see  :  Swete,  Introduction,  pp.  3 15-341  ; 
Ottley,  Handbook  to  the  Septuagint  (London,  1920),  ch.  5.  For  the  characteristics 
of  the  Septuagint  Psalter,  see  :  Mozley,  The  Psalter  of  the  Church,  Cambridge, 
19°  5  i  Flashar,  Exegetische  Studien  zum  Septuagintapsalter,  Zeitschrift  fur  die 
alttestamentliche  Wissenschaft,  1912,  pp.  83^.  ;  Rahlfs,  Septuagintastudien, 
1907  ;  Baethgen,  Der  textkritische  Wert  der  alten  ‘Obersetzungen  zu  den  Psalmen, 
1882  (pub.  in  Jahrbucher  fur  protestantische  Theologie,  1882). 


INTRODUCTION 


XXIX 


can  express  that  an  action  is  complete  or  being  stili  performed  in  the 
present,  past  or  future.  The  time  reference  is  not  contained  directly 
in  the  Hebrew  verbal  form,  but  can  generally  be  supplied  by  the 
context  in  which  the  verb  occurs.  In  translating  Hebrew  texts  it 
is  thertefore  vital  to  keep  the  whole  context  in  view.  Where  the 
Greek  translators  fully  understood  the  meaning  of  a  context  they 
rendered  it  as  accurat  ely  as  a  modern  scholar  could  ren  der  it.  But 
where  contexts  were  obscure — -above  all  in  complicated  poetic  texts 
in  which  subtle  emotional  moods  were  expressed,  such  as  the  psalms, 
the  translators  worked  mechanically,  usually  making  the  Greek 
aorist  represent  the  Hebrew  perfect,  and  the  Greek  future  the  Hebrew 
imperfect.  There  has  thus  arisen  in  the  Septuagint  Psalter  a  great 
deal  of  obscurity.  Different  Greek  tenses  are  thrown  together 
frequently  in  a  confusing  way  in  the  same  passage,  and  the  whole 
sense  and  balance  of  the  Hebrew  is  thus  often  completely  missed. 

In  the  rendering  of  Hebrew  words  the  Septuagint  is  not  precise. 
It  represents  the  same  Hebrew  word  by  different  words  at  different 
times — even  where  the  context  does  not  suggest  any  difference  of 
shade  in  the  meaning.  On  the  other  hand,  the  same  Greek  word  is 
used  to  render  several  quite  different  Hebrew  words. 

The  tendency  of  the  Septuagint  translators  to  read  the  Hebrew 
text  as  if  it  were  Aramaic  has  produced  many  peculiarities  in  the 
Greek  Psalter.  Since  most  of  these  have  passed  over  into  the  Latin 
Psalter  they  will  be  discussed  in  the  next  section. 

It  is  obvious  from  the  general  character  of  the  Septuagint  that 
the  translators  aimed,  as  a  rule,  at  extreme  fidelity,  and  often  at 
slavish  verbal  accuracy.  One  very  useful  resuit  of  this  is  that  we 
can  generally  reconstruet  from  the  Greek  the  Hebrew  text  on  which 
the  translators  worked,  and  can  thus  often  understand  the  Greek 
Psalter  better  from  the  Hebrew  to  which  it  points  than  from  itself. 
Occasionally,  too,  the  Hebrew  text,  which  we  can  reconstruet  more 
or  less  mechanically  from  the  Greek,  serves  to  correct  the  Massoretic 
text.  In  spite  of  the  general  fidelity  of  the  translators,  it  is  to  be 
noticed  that  they  sometimes  intentionally  depart  from  the  original. 
This  happens  often  in  connection  with  Hebrew  metaphors  relating 
to  God.  The  Septuagint  avoids  such  designations  of  God  as  ‘  shield/ 
‘  rock/  ‘  fortress/  and  replaces  them  either  by  the  direct  word  ‘  God  ' 
or  by  some  such  word  as  ‘  Helper  '  or  ‘  Refuge/  Again,  in  all  passages 
where  ’Elohim  (God)  is  used  in  a  way  which  might  be  misleading  to 
Gentiles,  it  is  ‘  replaced  ’  by  '  angels/  (So,  in  Ps.  8, 6  ;  96, 7 ;  137, 1 ; 
77 ,26.  C/.  Genesis  6,2.) 

There  are  other  indications,  also,  that  the  translators  allowed 
their  theological  views  to  influence  their  translation.  Probably  one 
of  the  most  frequent  of  these  is  the  tendency  to  render  all  the  various 
Hebrew  words  for  ‘  sin/  ‘  crime/  *  iniquity/  etc.,  by  the  single  Greek 
term  dvo/xia — ‘  lawlessness/  For  the  translators  sin  of  every  kind 


XXX 


INTRODUCTION 


is  primarily  an  offence  against  the  Torah,  the  (Mosaic)  Law  ;  it  is 
transgression  of  the  Code  of  Israel  (even  for  those  who  did  not  know 
that  Code),  violation  of  the  ‘  Law  ' — avo^ia.  This  is  the  attitude 
of  later  Hebrew  thought. 

To  the  student  of  Hebrew  the  most  disturbing  single  feature  of 
the  Greek  Psalter  is  perhaps  its  substitution  for  the  personal  name  of 
the  God  of  Israel — Yahweh,  of  the  general  term  ‘  Lord  ’  (kvplos). 
It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  Septuagint  translators  are  not  alto- 
gether  responsible  for  this.  It  is  likely  that  even  before  the  Old  Testa- 
ment  was  translated  into  Greek,  Yahweh  was  not  pronounced  in  the 
recitation  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures :  its  place  would  be  taken  by 
>adonai  (‘  Lord  ’),  and  Kvpios  would  be  the  natural  rendering  of  ’adonai. 
The  substitution  of  Kvpios  has  generally  produced  a  strange  weaken- 
ing  of  the  meaning  of  the  original.  A  phrase  like  :  ‘  Fortunate  is 
the  people  whose  God  is  Yahweh  ’  (Ps.  32, 12)  loses  a  great  part  of  its 
meaning  in  the  Greek  rendering :  ‘  Fortunate  is  the  people  whose 
God  is  the  Lord.’  The  name  ‘  Yahweh  ’  would  recall  to  the  Hebrew 
the  proudest  memori  es  of  his  nation’s  history — ali  those  wonderful 
interventions  in  the  great  crises  of  the  national  life  of  Israel  by  which 
IsraeFs  God  Yahweh  had  shown  Himself  to  be  indeed  the  living, 
loving  and  mighty  protector  of  His  people  which  the  name  ‘  Yahweh  ’ 
implied.1  ‘Lord'  ( Kvptos )  might  perhaps  suggest  to  a  Hellenist 
the  sovereignty  of  God,  but  it  was  not  a  proper  name,  and  the  phrase, 
‘  the  Lord  is  God/  could  not  suggest  immediately,  as  *  Yahweh  is 
God  ’  did,  that  the  God  worshipped  by  Israel,  Yahweh,  was  the  God, 
the  God  of  the  universe. 

The  language  of  the  Septuagint  Psalter  is  not  classical  Greek, 
but  that  dialect  of  Greek  which  is  called  the  kolvt) — the  dialect  which 
was  spoken  throughout  the  whole  Greek-speaking  world  in  the  period 
which  followed  the  conquests  of  Alexander.  This  form  of  Greek  is 
also  often  spoken  of  as  ‘  Hellenistic  ’  Greek.  It  was  inevitable,  per¬ 
haps,  that  idioms  and  constructions  which  were  more  Hebrew  than 
Greek  should  find  their  way  into  the  Greek  Bible,  and  thus  it  is  correct 
to  a  certain  extent,  to  set  the  Greek  Bible  apart  from  other  documents 
written  in  Hellenistic  Greek.  Yet  in  general  it  can  be  safely  held 
that  the  language  of  the  Septuagint  is  not  a  dialect  peculiar  to  the 
Bible  and  therefore  to  be  called  ‘  Biblical  Greek  ’ ;  it  is  the  Koiv rj 
such  as  it  was  spoken  in  Lower  Egypt  in  the  third  century  b.c. 

The  Greek  Bible  was  intended  primarily  for  use  in  the  synagogues 
of  Egypt.  In  course  of  time  it  was  used  in  the  synagogues  of  Greek- 
speaking  Jews  everywhere.  Thus  it  came  to  be  known  in  Palestine, 
and  in  Our  Lord's  time  it  was  quite  familiar  there.  From  the  earliest 
days  of  Christianity,  as  soon  as  the  faith  began  to  spread  outside  the 


1  C/.  Hehn,  Die  biblische  und  die  babylonische  Gottesidee,  Leipzig,  1913,  p.  214$. 


INTRODUCTION 


XXXI 


mother-church  at  Jerusalem,  the  Septuagint  was  the  Bible  of  the 
Christians.  It  is,  in  general,  the  Bible  of  the  Apostolic  writings,  and 
as  the  faith  was  carried  through  Asia  Minor  and  into  Europe,  the 
Septuagint  became  more  and  more  the  peculiar  possession  of 
Christi  ani  ty. 

The  great  importance  of  the  Septuagint  for  the  early  Christians 
and  their  use  of  it  in  discussion  with  Jewish  adversaries  tended  to 
make  it  unpopular  among  the  Jews.  The  critical  study  of  the  Hebrew 
text  which  was  inaugurated  by  the  Rabbinical  authorities  in  the  early 
part  of  the  second  century  a.d.  made  the  Jewish  scholars  realise 
that  the  Christian  Bible  differed  frequently  in  text  from  their  own 
Hebrew  Bible.  To  meet  the  Christian  controversi alists  on  their 
own  ground  with  a  Greek  Bible  which  would  be  really  loyal  to  the 
Hebrew,  the  Jews  had  need  of  a  Greek  Bible  of  their  own.  This  was 
produced  by  a  Jewish  proselyte  named  Aquila  in  the  first  half  of 
the  second  century.  Aquila's  translation  was  so  slavishly  literal 
that  it  frequently  sacrificed  ali  trace  of  Greek  idiom  and  construction 
to  reproduce  the  Hebrew.  Some  time  in  the  second  half  of  the  same 
second  Christian  century  another  Greek  Bible  was  published  by  a 
man  called  Theodotion  who  is  variously  described  as  a  Jewish  proselyte, 
and  as  a  Jew  who  had  become  an  Ebionite.  He  was  very  probably  a 
native  of  Ephesus.  His  version  appears  to  have  been  in  general  a 
free  revision  of  the  Septuagint  made  with  the  help  of  the  Standard 
Hebrew  text  of  the  time.  Probably  later  than  Theodotion,  another 
scholar  named  Symmachus,  described  both  as  an  Ebionite,  and  as  a 
Samaritan  converted  to  Judaism,  issued  another  Greek  Old  Testa¬ 
men  t.  Symmachus,  far  more  than  the  other  translators,  aimed  at 
making  the  Greek  Bible  a  really  Greek  book.  Thus  his  version  is 
much  freer  than  any  of  the  others.  There  is  evidence  also  that  other, 
at  least  partial,  versions  of  the  Old  Testament  in  Greek  were  published 
before  the  time  of  Origen  (a.d.  185-253).  Three  of  these  are  known 
from  the  works  of  Origen  as  the  Quinta,  Sexta  and  Septima  respectively. 
The  Sexta  is  usually  regarded  as  of  Christian  origin.  The  Greek  of 
the  Quinta  was  of  high  literary  value.  Of  the  Septima  practically 
nothing  is  known. 

The  Septuagint  was  often  copied  during  the  early  centuries  of 
its  existence.  No  doubt,  scribes  will  have  often  tried  to  correct  it 
into  greater  harmony  with  the  Hebrew.  When  the  other  Greek  trans- 
lations  became  familiar  the  text  of  the  Septuagint  must  have  been  in 
constant  danger  of  being  corrupted  by  readings  derived  from  their 
text.  It  is  not  strange  then,  that  the  Septuagint  should  have  ap- 
peared  to  Origen  in  the  beginning  of  the  third  century  as  greatly  in 
need  of  critical  reconstruction.  In  bringing  about  the  reconstruction 
of  the  Septuagint  text  Origen  assumed  that  the  Hebrew  text  of  his 
day  should  be  taken  as  the  true  and  original  text.  His  aim,  therefore, 
was  to  bring  the  Septuagint  into  as  complete  harmony  as  was  possible 


XXX11 


INTRODUCTION 


with  the  received  Hebrew  text  (which  was  practically  the  same  as 
the  present-day  Massoretic  text).  To  this  end  he  made  an  elaborate 
comparison  between  the  Hebrew  text  and  each  of  the  existing  Greek 
versions.  To  facilitate  this  comparison  he  transcribed  the  Hebrew 
text  and  the  various  Greek  versions  in  parallel  columns.  In  the  first 
column  he  set  the  current  Hebrew  text  in  Hebrew  characters  ;  in  the 
second  he  put  the  Hebrew  text  transliterated  in  Greek  characters  ; 
in  the  third  column  stood  Aquila’s  version  ;  in  the  fourth  the  version 
of  Symmachus ;  in  the  fifth  the  Septuagint,  and  in  the  sixth  the 
version  of  Theodotion.  This  parallel  Bible  of  Origen  is  called,  because 
of  its  six  columns,  the  Hexapla.  The  fifth  column  did  not  contain 
the  ordinary  Septuagint  text  merely.  Origen,  having  compared  the 
current  Septuagint  with  the  Hebrew  and  the  other  versions,  noted 
carefully  the  points  in  which  it  differed  from  the  Hebrew.  Where  it 
omitted  passages  contained  in  the  Hebrew,  Origen  added  these  passages 
in  his  fifth  column — generally  from  one  of  the  other  versions  ;  where, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  Septuagint  contained  more  than  the  Hebrew, 
Origen  indicated  the  plus  of  the  Septuagint  by  an  obelus,  or  deletion- 
mark.  The  passages  which  Origen  inserted  from  the  other  versions 
he  marked  with  an  asterisk.  Wherever  Origen  regar ded  the  text  of 
the  Septuagint  not  merely  as  defective  or  superfluous,  but  as  actually 
corrupt,  he  corrected  it  in  his  fifth  column  from  the  best  available 
sources.  Thus  the  fifth  column  of  the  Hexapla  was  really  a  critical 
edition  of  the  Septuagint,  bringing  the  latter  as  close  as  possible  to 
the  Hebrew.1 

The  Hexapla  must  have  been  a  work  of  enormous  dimensions. 
There  is  no  evidence  that  it  was  ever  copied  as  a  whole.  It  was 
deposited,  it  would  seem  by  Origen  himself,  in  the  library  of  Pamphilus 
at  Caesarea  in  Palestine.  There  it  could  be  examined  by  scholars, 
and  there  in  the  fourth  century  Jerome  consulted  it  and  made  ex- 


1  The  critical  signs  used  by  Origen  to  mark  the  relations  of  the  Septuagint 
to  the  Hebrew  were  borrowed  from  the  works  of  the  famous  Homerie  editor, 
the  Alexandrian  librarian  Aristarchus.  The  close  of  the  passages  to  which 
asterisk  or  obelus  was  intended  to  apply  was  marked  by  a  sign  called  the  metobelus. 
The  asterisk  was  written  by  Origen  as  the  Greek  letter  chi  with  four  dots  *x*; 
the  obelus  took  the  form  of  a  horizontal  straight  line  ( — ),  or  of  such  a  line  with 
dots  above  and  below,  or  on  one  side  only  (-f  or  — )  ;  the  metobelus  was  usually 
like  a  colon  (:)  ;  other  forms  of  it  show  a  sloping  line  with  a  dot,  or  dots  (•/  or  *  /.). 
Swete  gives  a  useful  illustration  of  a  text  marked  with  the  Hexaplaric  signs  on 
p.  73  of  his  Introduction.  The  student  of  the  Psalter  will  find  an  interesting 
specimen  of  a  psalm-text  arranged  in  the  six-column  method  of  the  Hexapla 
in  Swete,  pp.  62-63.  (See  also  article  on  Septuagint  by  Nestle  in  Hasting’s  Dict. 
of  the  Bible).  The  Hexapla  was  completed  before  245  a.d.  There  is  a  confused 
tradition  that  the  four  Greek  versions  were  published  later  by  Origen  in  the 
same  kind  of  parallel  arrangement  which  he  had  employed  in  the  Hexapla. 
This  Tetrapla  or  four  column  Bible  would  be  obviously  of  much  less  critical 
value  than  the  Hexapla,  and  there  is  no  real  proof  that  it  ever  existed  as  an 
independent  work  of  Origen. 


INTRODUCTION 


•  •  • 


XXX111 

tracts  from  it.  In  638  a.d.  Caesarea  feli  into  the  hands  of  the  Saracens 
and  the  Hexapla  of  Origen  has  never  been  seen,  as  a  whole,  since 
that  date.1  Fortunately,  however,  the  fifth  column  had  been  copied 
frequently,  and  through  the  care  of  Pamphilus  and  Eusebius  the 
Hexaplaric  Septuagint  was  circulated  in  Palestine  during  the  fourth 
century.  The  critical  signs  of  Origen  were,  in  the  course  of  time, 
naturally  omitted  by  scribes  who  did  not  understand  the  part  the 
critical  notation  was  meant  to  play  in  the  construction  of  the  text. 
Thus,  in  the  end,  the  Hexaplaric  Septuagint  became  a  hybrid  and 
misleading  text,  and  the  critical  work  of  Otigen  needed  to  be  done 
all  over  again.  Many  scholars  subsequently  to  Origen  did  a  great 
deal  of  useful  critical  work  for  the  Septuagint.  Among  these  were 
Eusebius  and  Pamphilus  of  Caesarea,  Lucian  of  Antioch  and  Hesychius 
of  Egypt.  With  their  work  and  with  all  the  efforts  of  scholars  from 
their  time  to  our  day  to  restore  the  Septuagint  to  its  primitive  form 
we  are  not  here  concerned.2 


(c)  THE  LATIN  PSALTER 

We  have  seen  how  the  Targum  and  the  Greek  Old  Testament 
arose  out  of  the  practical  needs  of  the  Jewish  Synagogue.  The  Latin 
Bible  (Old  Testament  and  New)  owed  its  beginnings  to  a  similar 
kind  of  practical  necessity  within  the  Christian  Church.  The  history 
of  the  Greek  Psalter  is,  as  has  been  shown,  the  history  of  the  Greek 
Old  Testament.  So,  too,  the  story  of  the  rise  and  growth  of  the 
Latin  Psalter  must  for  the  most  part  be  told  in  connection  with  that 
of  the  Latin  Bible  as  a  whole.  The  Christian  Church  of  the  first 
century  was  mainly  Greek-speaking  and  used  the  Septuagint  and 
the  Greek  New  Testament  freely  as  its  Scriptures.  Greek  was  the 
language  of  liturgy  and  administration  in  the  Roman  Church  itself, 


1  A  portion  of  the  Hexapla  containing  some  of  the  psalms  was  found  in 
1896  in  Milan  ;  other  fragments  were  disco vered  in  Cairo  by  Dr.  Schechter. 
The  traces  of  the  Hexapla  to  be  discovered  from  most  of  the  ancient  sources  have 
been  collected  by  Field  in  his  Origenis  Hexaplorum  quae  supersunt,  1875. 

2  For  the  reader  of  the  Commentary  which  folio  ws,  it  is  necessary  to  remember 
the  names  of  some  of  the  most  ancient  manuscripts  containing  the  whole,  or 
nearly  the  whole,  of  the  Septuagint.  These  are:  r.  Codex  Alexandrinus,  in 
the  British  Museum,  a  manuscript  of  the  fifth  century,  usually  referred  to  by 
the  Symbol  A.;  2.  Codex  Vaticanus,  in  the  Vatican  Library,  a  MS.  of  the  fourth 
century,  known  as  B.  ;  3.  Codex  Sinaiticus,  in  the  Imperial  Library,  Petrograd 
(a  portion  is  in  Leipzig),  a  manuscript  of  fourth  century,  probably  later  than  B., 
known  as  ^  ('Aleph). 

There  are  very  many  codices  which  contain  the  Septuagint  Psalter. 
Swete  gives  a  full  account  of  the  MSS.  of  the  Septuagint  in  his  Introduction, 
p.  122-170,  and  ‘  Additional  Notes,'  ibid.  pp.  505-512. 


XXXIV 


INTRODUCTION 


even  during  a  great  portion  of  the  second  century.1  When,  however, 
the  faith  began  to  penetrate  into  those  districts  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
where  Latin  was  predominantly  spoken,  the  need  of  a  Latin  Bible, 
both  for  preaching  and  liturgy,  made  itself  urgently  felt.  Probably 
the  need  in  such  districts  for  a  Latin  Psalter  would  be  only  less  urgent 
than  the  need  for  a  Latin  New  Testament.  Where  the  first  Latin 
Bible  (complete  or  incomplete)  appeared  we  do  not  know.  Very 
probably  the  beginnings  of  the  Latin  version  were  entirely  unofficial. 
Priests  and  preachers  at  first  would  have  translated  these  portions  o  f 
Scripture  which  they  needed  for  instruction  and  ceremonial  without 
formal  preparation.  But  the  value  of  a  written  Latin  version  ready 
to  hand  must  have  been  quickly  recognised.  Possibly  there  were 
in  the  beginning  a  very  great  number  of  such  Latin  versions. 
But  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  has  always  tended  to  uniformity 
and  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  tried 
at  an  early  stage  to  control  and  unify  the  various  versions  that  were 
current.  Thus  an  official  or  quasi-ofbcial  text  of  the  Latin  Bible 
must  have  arisen  very  early  in  the  Christian  Churches  of  the  Latin 
tongue.  All  the  probabilities  point  to  North  West  Africa  (i. e.  pro- 
consular  Africa  of  which  Carthage  was  the  chief  city)  as  the  horne  of 
the  earliest  Latin  Bible.  Both  Greek  and  Punic  were  spoken  widely 
in  pro-consular  Africa  in  the  second  century,  but  Latin  was  also  very 
generally  spoken  there.  Tertullian  (second  half  of  second  century) 
seems  to  have  known  and  used  a  Latin  Bible — and  if  there  was  a 
fairly  well-known  Latin  Bible  in  his  day,  it  is  reasonable  to  assume 
that  the  beginnings  of  the  Latin  version  in  Africa  go  back  to  the 
first  half  of  the  second  century.  It  is  generally  recognised  now-a- 
days  that  there  was  a  Latin  Bible  in  use  in  Africa  before  a  Latin 
version  was  current  in  Rome  or  any  other  di  striet  of  Italy. 

By  the  time  of  Cypri  an  (210-258)  an  official  Latin  Bible  was  cer- 
tainly  current  in  Africa.  Yet  it  is  possible  that  several  forms  or 
recensions  of  that  text  were  stili  in  use  at  the  end  of  the  third  century. 
We  cannot  determine  with  certainty  how  many  forms  of  the  Latin 
Bible  existed  even  in  the  second  half  of  the  fourth  century.  A 
phrase  of  St.  Augustine  which  has  been  taken  as  a  reference  to  a 
particular  form  of  the  Latin  Bible — In  ipsis  autem  interpretationibus 
Itala  caeteris  praeferatur  nam  est  verborum  tenacior  cum  perspicuitate 
sententiae  (Doctr.  Christiana,  ii.  15.  Migne,  34,  46),  has  given  rise 


1  Hippolytus  who  died  about  235  a.d.  wrote  in  Greek.  The  Pastor  of 
Hermas  suggests  a  completely  Greek-speaking  Church  at  Rome.  When  Polycarp 
of  Smyrna  came  to  Rome  in  154  he  celebrated  the  sacred  liturgy  in  Greek.  In 
the  list  of  Popes  down  to  Victor  there  are  only  two  names  Latin.  It  was  pro¬ 
bably  not  until  about  the  middle  of  the  third  century  that  the  language  of  the 
Roman  Church  became  predominantly  Latin.  There  must  have  been,  however, 
a  considerable  Latin  speaking  element  in  the  Roman  Church  by  the  middle  of 
the  second  century. 


INTRODUCTION 


XXXV 


to  the  view  that  there  was  in  Augustine’s  time  a  Latin  version  of  the 
Scriptures  known  as  the  Itala  which  was  remarkable  for  its  fidelity 
to  the  original  (the  Greek  Bible)  and  for  its  clearness  of  style.  It 
has  been  generally  assumed  that  Augustine  refers  in  the  phrase  to 
a  Latin  version  prior  to  St.  Jerome  (i. e.  to  a  pre-Vulgate  text).  Hence 
has  arisen  the  custom  of  calling  the  Old  Latin  or  pre-Jeromite  Bible 
the  Vetus  Itala.  Apart,  however,  from  the  reference  in  Augustine 
on  which  the  name  ‘  Itala  ’  is  based,  there  is  no  other  instance  in 
ancient  writers  of  the  use  of  that  name  for  a  pre-Jeromite  Latin  Bible. 
It  has  been  suggested,  therefore,  that  the  reading  ‘  Itala  ’  in  Augustine 
is  wrong  and  various  emendations  have  been  put  forward — ali  im- 
plying,  of  course,  that  Augustine  gave  no  name  to  the  interpretatio 
which  he  praised  so  highly.1 

Augustine's  famous  phrase  does  not  really  help  us  to  determine 
whether  there  was  only  one,  or  whether  there  were  several  official 
or  quasi-ofhcial  texts  of  the  Latin  Bible  in  the  second  half  of  the  fourth 
century.  For  the  history  of  the  Old  Latin  Psalter  in  that  period 
very  valuable  work  has  recently  been  done.  Capelle  (in  his  Le  texte 
dn  Psautier  latin  en  Afrique,  Rome,  1912)  has  shown  that,  just  as  the 
Church  of  North  Africa  had  its  special  form  of  the  Old  Latin  New 
Testament,  so  also  it  had,  even  in  Cyprian’s  time,  its  peculiar  form  of 
Old  Latin  Psalter.  He  has  also  proved  that  we  have  in  the  Codex 
Veronensis  the  text  of  the  African  Psalter  which  was  in  use  in  the 
time  of  Augustine,  and  he  conjectures  that  it  is  a  revisi  on  of  the 
Psalter  used  by  Cypri  an.  Thus  Capelle  brings  us  back  practically 
to  the  Old  Latin  Psalter  as  used  in  Africa  in  the  third  century.  We 
do  not  know  when  the  Latin  Psalter  was  first  used  in  Europe,  nor 
can  we  determine  whether  the  European  form  of  the  Latin  Psalter 
was  or  was  not  derived  from  the  primitive  African  Psalter.  Jeannotte 
(in  his  Le  Psautier  de  Saint  Hilaire  de  Poitiers,  Paris,  1917)  has  en- 
deavoured  to  do  for  the  European  form  of  the  Old  Latin  Psalter  what 
Capelle  had  done  for  the  African  text.  He  has  shown  that  St.  Hilary 


1  Illa  and  Usitata  have  been  suggested  as  the  true  reading.  Vaccari  has 
recently  argued  acutely  in  his  Alie  origini  della  Volgata  (reprinted  from  the 
Civiltd  Cattolica,  Rome,  1916)  that  Augustine ’s  phrase  refers  to  Greek  rather 
than  to  Latin  texts,  and  that  ‘  Aquila  ’  should  be  read  instead  of  '  Itala.'  Burkitt, 
accepting  the  reading  ‘  Itala,’  set  up  the  theory  that  it  is  a  designation  of  a 
text  identical  with  Jerome’s  Vulgate  (See  The  Old  Latin  and  the  Itala,  Texts  and 
Studies  iv.  3).  Vaccari  ( op .  cit.)  regards  it  as  impossible  that  ‘  Itala,’  if  it  prove 
to  be  the  correct  reading,  could  refer  to  the  Vulgate  of  Jerome  ;  if  it  does  refer 
to  a  Latin  text,  the  text  in  questio n  must  have  been  one  in  use  in  Augustine ’s 
time  in  Italy.  Burkitfs  view  has,  however,  the  support  of  such  important 
scholars  as  Corssen,  Zahn,  and  Wendland.  Possibly  the  Vienna  edition  of  the 
Doctrina  Christiana  may  ultimately  show  that  Vaccari’s  reading  *  Aquila’  is 
the  true  one,  and  then  we  shall  be  free  to  refuse  to  apply  the  designation  ‘  Itala  ' 
to  any  form  of  the  Old  Latin  Bible.  Meanwhile  ‘  Itala  ’  or  '  Vetus  Itala  ’  serves 
as  a  convenient  name  for  the  pre-Jeromite  Latin  Bible. 


XXXVI 


INTRODUCTION 


used  a  form  of  the  Latin  Psalter  which  is  sufficiently  distinet  from  the 
African  Psalter  and  from  contemporary  Italian  Codices  to  stand 
apart  as  the  Gallic  Psalter  of  the  fourth  century.  According  to 
Jeannotte  the  Old  Latin  Psalters  of  that  date  form  two  main  groups — • 
the  African  and  the  European.  The  Codices  of  the  European  class 
fall  apart  then,  further,  into  a  Gallic  and  an  Italian  group. 

Ali  three  groups,  in  spite  of  their  differences,  show  an  extraordinary 
agreement  in  their  general  text.  This  agreement,  however,  is  not 
great  enough  to  prove  that  ali  three  are  merely  different  recensions 
of  one  primitive  version.  Thus  modern  scholarship  is  stili  unable 
to  decide  whether  the  different  forms  of  the  Old  Latin  Psalter  which 
existed  in  St.  Jerome’s  day  were  the  product  of  a  single  primitive 
version  recognised  at  first  in  some  particular  Church  (such  as  the 
African)  which,  through  being  copied,  appeared  ultimately  in  various 
recensions,  or  whether  they  were  due  to  a  multiplicity  of  primitive 
independent  translations.  The  multiplicity  of  Latin  Codices  in  the 
fourth  century  was  very  confusi ng.  Hilary,  Augustine,  Jerome — ali 
complain  that  there  were  in  their  days  almost  as  many  different 
types  of  text  as  there  were  manuscripts  of  the  Latin  Bible  {tot  ex¬ 
emplaria  quot  codices).  Such  variety  of  texts  would  be  most  un- 
pleasantly  felt  in  the  liturgy.  To  establish  some  general  uniformity 
Pope  Damasus  commissioned  St.  Jerome  in  383  to  revise  the  Old 
Latin  Scriptures.  Jerome  at  once  set  about  the  work,  and  revised 
immediately  the  New  Testament  and  the  Psalter  (in  383).  In  his 
revision  of  the  Psalter,  Jerome  simply  sought  to  bring  the  Old  Latin 
text  into  agreement  with  the  commonly  received  text  of  the  Septua- 
gint.  The  Old  Latin  Bible  was,  of  course,  a  Latin  version  of  the 
Septuagint,  and  Jerome’s  aim  (and  the  aim  of  Pope  Damasus)  was 
to  secure  as  close  an  agreement  as  possible  between  the  Latin  Bible 
and  the  best  available  text  of  the  Septuagint.  We  do  not  know 
whether  Jerome  took  much  trouble  to  secure  a  Greek  Codex  of  ex- 
ceptional  value  and  reliability  as  the  basis  of  his  work.  He  had  not 
yet  made  the  acquaintance  of  Origen’s  critical  text  in  the  Hexapla. 

This  first  Jeromite  revision  of  the  Psalter  was  immediately  adopted 
for  use  in  the  Church  at  Rome.  Hence  it  is  called  the  Psalterium 
Romanum.  This  Psalter  remained  in  ofhcial  use  in  the  various 
churches  of  Rome  down  to  the  reign  of  Pope  Pius  V  ;  it  is  stili  used 
in  St.  Peter’s.  It  is  also  used  in  the  Ambrosian  liturgy.  The  psalm- 
passages  which  are  read  in  the  Introits,  Graduals,  Offertories  and 
Communions  of  the  Roman  Missal  are  taken  from  the  Psalterium 
Romanum.  In  the  Breviary  the  Invitatory  Psalm  (94)  and  the 
Antiphons  and  Responsories  are  also  according  to  the  text  of  the 
Psalterium  Romanum, 

In  December,  384,  Pope  Damasus,  the  friend  and  patron  of  Jerome, 
died,  and  in  the  autumn  of  385,  Jerome  left  Rome  and  went  to  the 
Holy  Land.  In  the  following  year  he  settled  down  at  Bethlehem, 


INTRODUCTION 


xxxvii 


and  there  he  spent  the  remaining  thirty-four  years  of  his  life  in  the 
study  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  practice  of  severe  monasticism.  In 
Palestine,  Jerome  saw  the  Hexapla  of  Origen  which  was  in  the  pos- 
session  of  the  presbyter,  Pamphilus  of  Caesarea.  He  realised  at 
once  the  critical  value  of  the  Hexaplaric  Septuagint,  and  copied  from 
it  for  his  own  use  OrigerTs  emendations  as  well  as  the  symbols  which 
Origen  had  used  in  setting  up  his  text.  Jerome  had  not,  as  far  as 
we  know,  a  high  opinion  of  his  Psalterium  Romanum.  He  speaks 
of  it  as  having  been  produced  rather  hastily.1  About  392  Jerome 
made  a  second  revision  of  the  Old  Latin  Psalter — this  time  on  the 
basis  of  the  Hexaplaric  Septuagint.  This  revision  contained  the 
critical  signs  of  OrigerTs  text — the  asterisks,  obeli,  etc.,  and  Jerome 
was  anxious  that  these  signs  should  be  incorporated  in  all  copies  of 
his  revision.  Scribes,  however,  frequently  disregarded  Jerome’s  wish 
in  this  matter,  and  in  the  course  of  time  the  critical  notation  of  Origen 
disappeared  from  the  second  psalter  of  Jerome.2 

The  first  Church  which  accepted  Jerome’s  second  revision  as  its 
offici al  Psalter  was  that  of  Gaul.3  Hence  the  revision  has  received 
the  name  Psalterium  Gallicanum .4 


1  In  his  preface  to  the  Psalterium  Gallicanum  Jerome  says  :  Psalterium 
Romae  dudum  positus  emendaram  :  et  juxta  Septuaginta  interpretes,  licet  cursim, 
magna  tamen  ex  parte  correxeram.  He  goes  on  then  to  say  that  this  version  had 
itself  been  quickiy  corrupted — scriptorum  vitio  depravatum,  so  that  the  mistakes 
he  had  removed  had  become  even  more  deeply  rooted  than  before.  The  sight 
of  the  fifth  column  of  the  Hexapla  was  probably,  however,  a  greater  incentive 
to  a  new  revision  of  the  Psalter  than  the  growing  corruption  of  the  Psalterium 
Romanum. 

2  An  interesting  example  cf  a  Latin  Psalter  which  in  great  measure  repro- 
duces  the  critical  signs  will  be  found  in  the  Cathach  of  St.  Columba  (edited  by 
Rev.  H.  J.  Lawlor  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  1916).  The 
text  of  the  Cathach,  though  it  is  clearly  based  on  Jerome’s  second  revision,  is 
not  free  from  Old  Latin  corruptions. 

3  Apparently  through  the  influence  of  Gregory  of  Tours.  Cf.  Walafrid 
Strabo,  De  rebus  eccles.  25. 

4  A  comparison  of  the  invitatory  psalm  94  with  the  same  psalm  as  it  appears 
in  the  Brevi ary  in  the  3rd  nocturn  of  the  Office  of  the  Epiphany  will  give  some 
slight  notion  of  the  relations  between  the  Romanum  and  the  Gallicanum.  The 
two  psalters  are  printed  together  in  the  29th  vol.  of  Migne’s  Latin  Fathers. 

Jerome's  own  idea  of  the  relations  between  the  Roman  and  Gallic  Psalters 
is  stated  most  clearly  in  his  letter  to  the  Gothic  scholars  Sunnia  and  Fretela 
(Vallarsi’s  edition  of  Jerome,  Vol.  I).  This  letter  can  be  used  as  an  authentic 
commentary  on  the  Gallic  Psalter.  Jerome  admits  that  at  times  he  failed  to 
incorporate  in  the  Gallicanum  a  reading  supported  by  the  Hexapla,  even  when 
it  was  the  certainly  better  reading,  because,  provided  the  general  sense  of  the 
readings  in  question  was  the  same,  he  was  unwilling  veterum  interpretum  consue¬ 
tudinem  mutare,  ne  nimia  novitate  lectoris  studium  terreremus.  It  is  likely,  too, 
that  Jerome,  in  making  the  second  revision,  sometimes  accepted  a  reading  from 
the  Hebrew  or  from  one  of  the  versions  in  the  third,  fourth,  and  sixth  columns 
of  the  Hexapla  rather  than  from  the  Hexaplaric  Septuagint  itself.  Thus  it  is 
not  possible  to  reconstruet  exactly  from  the  Gallicanum  the  Psalter  of  the 
Hexaplaric  Septuagint. 

In  addition  to  seeing  the  Hexapla  at  Caesarea,  Jerome  was  brought  frequently 
into  contact  with  the  Hexaplaric  Septuagint  during  the  whole  course  of  his 


XXXV111 


INTRODUCTION 


About  393  Jerome  made  a  Latin  version  of  the  Psalter  directly 
from  Hebrew  text.  This  is  known  as  the  Psalterium  juxta  Hebraeos.* 1 
Though  this  psalter  was  superior  in  many  ways  to  the  other  two,  it 
was  never  adopted  as  an  official  text  in  any  Church.  Priests  and 
people  would  naturally  resent  any  far-reaching  change  in  the  psalm 
texts  of  the  liturgy,  and  the  Psalterium  juxta  Hebraeos  being,  as  com- 
pared  with  the  old  psalter,  strikingly  new  in  many  places,  was  never 
popularly  received.  Thus  it  has  come  about  that  in  the  Vulgate 
Bible  the  text  of  the  Psalter  is  not  (as  is  the  case  with  most  of  the 
other  books  of  the  Old  Testament)  Jerome^  version  made  directly 
from  the  Hebrew,  but  his  second  revision  of  the  Old  Latin  Psalter, 
the  Psalterium  Gallicanum.  From  this  Psalter,  are  derived  the  psalms 
of  the  Breviary.2  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Psalter  of  the  Breviary 
is  essentially  the  Old  Latin  version  of  the  Septuagint  Psalter,  and 
therefore,  a  translation  of  a  translati on.  Its  language  is  the  vulgar 
Latin  of  the  ancient  Latin  Psalter — the  idiom  which  was  spoken  in 
Italy  and  Africa,  and  other  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  second 
century  a.d.  Hence  we  must  not  look  for  classical  correctness  either 
in  its  grammar,  or  in  its  style. 

The  Commentary  which  follows  deals  with  the  peculiarities  of  the 
Vulgate  Psalter  in  detail.  In  order,  however,  to  help  the  reader  to 
realise  from  the  beginning  the  general  character  of  the  Vulgate  Psalter, 
a  very  brief  account  of  the  chief  sources  of  its  obscurities  and  diffi- 
culties  may  be  found  useful  here. 

The  Vulgate  Psalter  is  a  literal  translation  in  the  idiom  of  Vulgar 
Latin  of  a  Greek  Psalter  which  is  itself  an  almost  verbally  literal 
version  of  the  Hebrew  Psalms.  We  may,  therefore,  expect  to  find 
in  the  Vulgate  Psalter  three  main  classes  of  defects  and  peculiarities  : 

(i)  those  due  to  its  fidelity  in  reproducing  the  Septuagint  Psalter, 

(ii)  those  which  may  be  styled  ‘  Semitisms  ’  as  due  to  the  influence 
of  the  Hebrew  original,  and  (iii)  those  which  arise  from  the  character 
of  Vulgar  Latin.3 


life  in  Palestine,  for  it  is  known  that  the  Hexaplaric  recension  was  widely  used 
in  the  Church  of  Palestine  in  Jerome's  time.  It  can  be  said  that  Jerome  by  his 
Psalterium  Gallicanum  advertised  Origen’s  Hexapla  in  the  West,  and  that  those 
who  are  bound  to  the  recitation  of  the  Roman  Breviary  maintain,  as  it  were, 
a  perpetual  commemoration  of  Origen's  zeal  and  scholarship. 

1  In  the  Commentary  that  follows,  this  translation  is  usually  referred  to  as . 
‘  Jerome’s  version  '  or  simply  ‘  Jerome.’ 

2  The  Psalterium  juxta  Hebraeos  is  to  be  found  in  Migne,  Vol.  28.  The  most 
scholarly  edition  of  it  is  probably  that  by  Lagarde,  Psalterium  juxta  Hebraeos 
Hieronymi,  Leipzig,  1874.  Bonaccorsi  gives  the  Greek  Psalter  and  the  Latin 
Psalters  of  Jerome  in  a  very  convenient  form  in  his  (stili  incomplete)  Psalterium 
Latinum  cum  Graeco  et  Hebraeo  comparatum,  1914-1915. 

8  The  classes  (i)  and  (ii)  are  intimately  connected,  and  the  distinction  be- 
tween  them  here  made  is  somewhat  artificial.  Obviously  if  the  Septuagint 
Psalter  is  reproduced  with  fidelity  by  the  Vulgate,  and  if  the  Semitisms  of  the 


INTRODUCTION 


XXXIX 


(i)  Defects  and  pecaliarities  due  to  literal  reproduction  of  Septuagint. 

Some  of  the  more  striking  defects  of  the  Greek  Psalter  have  been 
mentioned  above — such  as  the  imperfect  rendering  of  Hebrew  verbal 
forms,  omission  of  metaphor  in  regard  to  God,  simplification  of  vocabu- 
lary,  substitution  of  *  Lord  *  for  Yahweh.  All  these  have  been  taken 
over,  of  course,  in  the  Latin  Psalter. 

The  failure  of  the  Latin  (following  the  Greek)  to  reproduce  the 
exact  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  verbal  system  may  be  seen  everywhere 
in  the  Psalter.  Compare,  for  instance,  Ps.  6, 7  : 

Laboravi  in  gemitu  meo, 

lavabo  per  singulas  noctes  lectum  meum 

lacrymis  meis  stratum  meum  rigabo. 

Here  the  three  verbs  ought  to  be  in  the  present  tense.  So  again  in 
Ps  118,97  dilexi  instead  of  diligo ,  in  8, 4  videbo  instead  of  video,  and 
similarly  in  numberless  other  cases.  In  the  English  translation  of 
the  psalms  given  in  this  work  the  Vulgate  tenses  have  been  replaced 
generally  by  those  required  by  the  context  in  the  Hebrew  original. 

The  substitution  of  Deus  for  epithets  such  as  ‘  rock,’  ‘fortress/ 
‘  shield/  has  been  carri ed  out  just  as  in  the  Greek  (Ps.  6i,8  ;  72, 26 ; 
27, \  etc.,  etc.)  :  ‘  rock  ’  of  the  Hebrew  is  sometimes  replaced  by 
adjutor,  zy, 3 ;  or  firmamentum  (ibid),  or  fortitudo,  30,4;  or  susceptor, 
41, 10  ;  ‘shield'  appears  as  assumptio,  88,19;  and  protector,  143, 2  ; 

‘  fortress  '  is  replaced  by  susceptor,  61, 2  ;  58,17»18. 

Angeli  represents  ’Elohim  in  Ps.  8, 6 ;  96, 7 ;  137,1.  The  use  of 
Dominus  for  Yahweh  follows  the  Septuagint  use  of  Kupto?.  Here 
deserves  to  be  noticed  a  very  striking  instance  in  which  a  peculiarly 
coloured  Greek  rendering  is  followed  by  the  Vulgate.  In  Ps.  83, 12 
the  Massoretic  text  has  :  ‘  For  a  Sun  and  a  Shield  is  Yahweh  'Elohim  *  ; 
the  Vulgate  (changing  the  whole  sentence)  has  :  Quoniam  misericordiam 
et  veritatem  diligit  Deus. 

In  the  Greek  version  there  are  many  indications  that  the  trans- 
lators  were  more  familiar  with  Aramaic  than  with  Hebrew.  The 
Latin  text  shows  many  strange  phrases  which  arose  out  of  the  con- 
fusion  of  Hebrew  and  Aramaic  words  by  the  Septuagint  translators. 
See,  for  instance,  the  Commentary  below  on  Ps.  51, 3.  In  59, 10  (  = 
107, 10)  Moab  olla  spei  meae  is  due  to  reading  the  Hebrew  ‘  my  wash- 
ing  *  as  if  it  were  the  Aramaic  ‘  my  hope  ’  (the  true  sense  of  the 
passage  being,  ‘  Moab  is  my  washing-basin  ’).  In  Ps.  60, 8  Miseri¬ 
cordiam  et  veritatem  ejus  quis  requiret  represents  the  Hebrew  :  ‘  Loving- 
kindness  and  Faithfulness  (Grace  and  Truth  regarded  as  ministers 


Vulgate  are  present  also  in  the  Septuagint,  (i)  and  (ii)  fall  practically  together. 
Yet  there  are  features  of  the  Vulgate  which,  though  derived  from  the  Hebrew 
through  the  Greek,  deserve  to  be  called  rather  ‘  Graecisms  '  than  ‘  Semitisms.' 

d 


xl 


INTRODUCTION 


of  God  :  cf.  John  i,14)  do  Thoii  command  to  guard  him/  because 
the  Greek  translators  read  the  Hebrew  verb  man  (the  piel  imperative 
of  manahy  meaning  ‘command'  or  ‘ commissi on ')  as  if  it  were  the 
Aramaic  man  ( =‘  who  ’).  Through  reading  an  Aramaic  instead  of  a 
Hebrew  verb  (and  consequently,  transposing  subject  and  object)  the 
Greek  translators  got  the  sense  which  appears  in  the  Vulgate  as  : 
Improperium  expectavit  cor  meum  (68, 21).  The  Massoretic  text  has  : 
‘  Insuit  hath  broken  my  heart/  The  Hebrew  verb  ‘  to  break  '  has 
in  unpointed  script  the  same  appearance  as  the  Aramaic  verb  ‘  to 
hope/  The  same  confusi on  between  ‘  break  ’  and  ‘  hope  '  has  pro- 
duced,  103, 11 — Expectabunt  onagri  in  siti  sua,  instead  of  Frangunt 
onagri  sitim  suam.  In  118,120  the  translators  not  understanding  the 
Hebrew  samar  (‘  shudder  ')  translated  it  as  if  it  were  an  Aramaic 
verb  meaning  ‘  to  nail  ’ ;  hence  the  strange  phrase  :  Confige  timore 
tuo  carnes  meas  instead  of  the  Hebrew  :  ‘  My  flesh  shudders  for  dread 
of  Thee/  1 

It  was  said  above  that  the  Greek  translators  had  before  them  a 
purely  consonantal  Hebrew  text  without  division  of  words.  Many 
defects  of  our  Vulgate  Psalter  are  due  to  an  incorrect  resolution  of 
the  consonantal  text  into  separate  words.  Thus,  for  instance,  in 
Ps.  4, 3  we  have  in  the  Vulgate  : 

Filii  hominum  usquequo  gravi  corde  ? 

Ut  quid  diligitis  vanitatem  et  quaeritis  mendacium  ? 

The  corresponding  Massoretic  text  means  : 

How  long,  sons  of  men,  shall  my  honour  be  stained  ? 

Will  ye  stili  love  folly  and  seek  after  deceit  ? 

The  Massoretes  read  :  bene  ’ish  ‘ad-meh  khfbhodi  likhelimmah  (‘  sons 
of  men,  how  long  shall  my  honour  be  disgrace  ?  ’)  The  Greek  trans¬ 
lators  read :  bene  ’ish  ‘ ad-meh  kibhlde  lebh  lammah  (‘  sons  of  men, 
why  stili  heavy  of  heart  ?  Why/  etc.).  Thus,  except  for  the  change 
of  the  kh  in  likhelimmah  into  bh ,  the  Greek  translation  presupposes 
the  same  consonantal  text  as  the  Massoretic,  but  has  divided  that 
text  in  its  own  way  into  words.  Many  of  the  most  unintelligible 
passages  in  the  Latin  Psalter  are  due  to  similar  false  resolution  of 
the  Hebrew  consonantal  text. 

Often  a  whole  passage  is  obscure  simply  because  a  single  Hebrew 
word  was  wrongly  vocalised  by  the  Septuagint  translators.  Thus, 
in  9, 7  frameae  in  finem  is  a  mistake  for  ruinae  in  finem,  because 
the  Hebrew  words  ‘  swords  ’  and  ‘  ruins  ’  have  the  same  consonants. 
In  Ps.  87, 11  is  the  difficult  text : 

Numquid  mortuis  facies  mirabilia, 

aut  medici  suscitabunt  et  confitebuntur  tibi  ? 


1  See  also  Ps.  71, 12 . 


INTRODUCTION 


xli 


It  seems  to  suggest  the  idea  of  raising  up  the  dead  that  they  may 
give  praise  to  God.  The  Massoretic  text  corresponding  means : 

Canst  Thou  work  wonders  for  the  dead  ? 

Will  ‘  the  Shades  ’  rise  again  to  praise  Thee  ? 

The  explanation  of  the  difference  is  easy.  RP’M  could  be  read 
rophe,im  which  means  physicians,  or  Rcphaim — the  dwellers  in  Sheol, 
the  ‘Shades/  Again  YKM  could  be  read  yakumu  ‘rise  up  *  or 
yakimu  ‘  raise  up/  The  Massoretic  readings  are  obviously  to  be 
preferred.  Again  in  Ps.  90, 3-6  the  Hebrew  debher,  which  means 
plague  or  pestilence,  is  treated  in  the  Graeco-Latin  Psalter  as  if  it 
were  dabhar  which =‘  word/  or  ‘  thing/  Thus  the  negotium  (=dabhar) 
perambulans  in  tenebris  has  come  to  take  the  place  of  the  Hebrew, 
*  the  pestilence  ( debher )  which  creeps  in  the  darkness/  Again  in 
Ps.  103, 17  we  ha  ve  :  Illic  passeres  nidificabunt,  herodii  domus  dux  est 
eorum  suggesting  that  the  ‘  stork’s  house  *  is  a  guide  for  the  sparrows. 
But  the  Massoretic  text  has  : 

[The  Cedars  of  Lebanon] 

Where  the  little  birds  build  their  nest. 

The  stork  for  its  home  has  the  cypress. 

The  Massoretes  read  beroshim  =‘  cypress/  the  Septuagint  translators 
bero’sham,  ‘  at  their  head/  Jerome  in  his  own  translation  juxta 
Hebraeos  has  :  milvo  >abies  domus  ejus,  which,  except  for  the  rendering 
of  the  Hebrew  hasid  (stork)  by  milvus,  accurately  represents  the 
Hebrew. 

The  difficulty  of  the  passage  Ps.  57, 10  : 

Priusquam  intelligerent  spinae  vestrae  rhamnum 

is  due  to  the  reading  by  the  Greeks  of  sirim  (‘  thorns  ’)  instead  of 
the  Massoretic  siroth  (‘  kettles  ’).  The  Massoretic  text  means  : 

Before  your  kettles  feel  [the  fire  of]  the  thorns. 

In  Ps.  126, 4, 

Sicut  sagittae  in  manu  potentis 
ita  filii  excussorum 

the  Hebrew  word  ne‘urim  which  means  ‘  youth  ’  has  been  read  as  if 
it  were  ne‘urim  the  plural  passive  participle  from  na‘ar,  ‘  to  shake 
off/  ‘  to  cast  off/  It  is  easy  to  see  how  the  sons  begotten  in  youth 
are  like  arrows  in  the  strong  man's  hand.  But  there  is  no  genuine 
meaning  in  ‘  the  sons  of  the  driven  out/ 

The  obscure  passage  in  Ps.  130, 2  : 

Si  non  humiliter  sentiebam 
sed  exaltavi  animam  meam. 

Sicut  ablactatus  est  super  matre  sua, 
ita  retributio  in  anima  mea 


xlii 


INTRODUCTION 


owes  its  obscurity  mainly  to  the  circumstance  that  the  Greek  trans- 
lators  read  romamti  (exaltavi)  instead  of  domamti  (‘  I  silenced '),  and 
gemul  (retributio)  instead  of  gamul  (ablactatus).  They  also  read 
‘ale  naphshi  instead  of  ‘alai  naphshi.  The  passage  really  means : 

Surely  my  thought  was  lowly, 

And  I  kept  silent  my  soul. 

Like  a  weaned  child  with  its  mother, 

Yea  !  like  a  weaned  child  with  me  was  my  soul ! 

The  psalmi  st 's  soul  was  as  silent  in  him  as  is  the  weaned  child  by  its 
mother’s  side.  Such  a  quiet  soul  could  not  be  suspected  of  pride. 
The  Vulgate  text  as  it  stands  scarcely  conveys  this,  or  any,  intelligible 
meaning. 

An  analogous  misreading  and  misunderstanding  of  the  Greek 
interpreters  has  produced  the  text  Ps.  ioi, 24-25  : 

Respondit  ei  in  via  virtutis  suae, 
paucitatem  dierum  meorum  nuncia  mihi 
Ne  revoces  me  in  dimidio  dierum  meorum. 

Jerome  in  his  version  from  the  Hebrew  has  rightly  rendered  this 
passage : 

Afflixit  in  via  fortitudinem  meam 
abbreviavit  dies  meos  ; 

Dicam  ;  ne  rapias  me  in  medio  dierum  meorum. 

The  Greek  translators  took  ‘innah  (‘  humbled/  ‘  broke  ’)  as  ‘anah 
(‘  answered  ').  Kissar  yamai  ’omar  ‘  He  hath  shortened  my  days  ; 
I  will  say/  the  Greeks  read  as  koser  yamai  >emor,  *  Teli  Thou  the 
shortness  of  my  days/ 

In  Ps.  89, 12  the  unintelligible  phrase  : 

Dinumerare  dexteram  tuam  sic  notam  fac 
et  eruditos  corde  in  sapientia 

is  due  to  false  division  of  the  unpointed  Hebrew  text.  The  Massoretic 
text  (slightly  emended)  means  : 

To  reckon  our  years  do  Thou  teach  us, 

That  so  in  our  heart  we  may  set  wisdom. 

Yamenu  (our  days)  of  the  Massoretic  text  was  read  with  the  first 
letter  of  the  next  word  (ken)  as  yeminka  (‘  thy  right  hand  ').  Nablii’ 
(‘  that  we  may  bring  ’)  was  perhaps  read  as  nebhone  (eruditi,  nun 
taking  the  place  of  'aleph).1 


1  The  Septuagint  translators  had  here  before  them,  apparently,  the  con- 

Rnnsnfs  1  j-pvf 

LMNTYMNKKNHD‘WNBNLBBHKMH 
which  they  read,  limnoth  yeminka  ken  hoda‘  unebhone  lebh  behokhmah. 


INTRODUCTION 


xliii 


In  Ps.  76, 11 ;  Et  dixi  nunc  coepi ;  haec  mutatio  dexterae  Excelsi, 
the  Greek  translators  read  the  word  hallothi  (‘  my  wound  ’)  as  if  it 
were  a  part  of  the  verb  halat  which  in  some  of  its  forms  means  *  begin/ 
The  true  sense  of  the  passage  is  : 

Then  I  said  :  This  indeed  is  my  trouble 

That  the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High  hath  changed. 

The  Psalterium  juxta  Hebraeos  gives  the  sense  f  airly  well :  Imbecillitas 
mea  est  haec,  commutatio  dexterae  Excelsi.  The  psalmisfs  chief 
grief  is  that  God’s  attitude  of  kindness  towards  him  has  changed. 

Another  familiar  type  of  misunderstanding  which  has  been  in- 
herited  by  the  Gallican  Psalter  from  the  Septuagint  is  the  frequent 
failure  to  recognise  proper  names  as  such.  Thus,  for  instance, 
Meribah  becomes  irritatio  in  94, 9  ;  Siryon  is  transformed  into  dilectus 
in  28,®  (but  see  commentary  on  this  verse)  ;  the  vale  of  Sukkoth  in 
59,8  is  read  as  Convallis  tabernaculorum  :  the  ‘  mountain  of  Bashan  ’ 
in  67, 16  becomes  mons  pinguis  ;  in  67, 15  Shaddai  (an  old  name  of 
God)  becomes  caelestis  :  Moshekh  of  119,5  is  rendered  prolongatus 
(because  mashakh  means  ‘  to  draw  out  ’)  ;  ‘In  Shalem/  Ps.  75, 3 
(where  the  parallelism  with  ‘  Sion  ’  shows  that  Jerusalem  is  meant) 
is  rendered  ‘  in  pace.’ 

The  converse  error  of  taking  a  Hebrew  adjective  as  a  proper 
name  is  also  found  in  the  Vulgate  Psalter — for  instance,  in  Ps.  73, 15 
Siccasti  fluvios  Ethan  where  Ethan  is  an  adjective  meaning  ‘  ever- 
flowing  *  ( i.e .  not  ceasing  to  flow  in  summer,  like  many  of  the  ‘  winter 
flowing  ’  wadys  ;  Jerome  renders,  flumina  fortia )  ;  again,  in  the  same 
psalm,  verse  14,  Dedisti  eum  escam  populis  Aethiopum,  Aethiopum  has 
taken  the  place  of  the  Hebrew  ‘  desert-dwellers  ’  \cf.  Ps.  71,9). 

The  examples  of  obscurities  and  defects  in  the  Vulgate  Psalter 
due  to  fidelity  in  reproducing  the  peculiarities  of  the  Septuagint 
might  be  multiplied  indefinitely.  It  must  not  be  assumed,  however, 
from  the  above  list  that  the  Hebrew  text  supposed  by  the  Graeco- 
Latin  Psalter  is  always  inferior  to  the  Massoretic  text.  Often  the 
latter  must  be  emended  on  the  basis  of  the  former.  Yet  it  will  be 
found,  as  a  rule,  that  the  differences  between  the  Graeco-Latin  and 
the  Massoretic  Psalters  are  due  mainly  to  different  methods  of  reading 
the  primitive  consonantal  text — to  different  traditions,  that  is,  con- 
cerning  the  breaking  up  of  the  consonantal  text  into  groups  forming 
individual  words,  and  the  insertion  of  vowels  into  those  words.  Even 
in  the  case  of  an  apparently  great  difference  between  the  Psalters 
such  as  in  Ps.  21, 17  where  the  Latin  has.  Foderunt  manus  meas  et 
pedes  meos  and  the  Massoretic  text,  ‘  Like  a  lion,  my  hands  and  my 
feet  ’  (connecting  with  the  preceding,  ‘  A  band  of  evil-doers  encircles 
me  *),  the  difference  in  the  consonantal  Hebrew  impii ed  in  the  two 
readings  is  altogether  in  a  single  letter.  The  Latin  reading  supposes 
a  vau  where  the  Massoretic  reads  a  yod  as  the  fourth  consonant  of 


xliv 


INTRODUCTION 


the  phrase.  Ka’ru  =f oderunt ;  ka,ari  means  *  like  a  lion/  The  Latin 
gives  clearly  the  better  text,  but  there  is  no  ground  for  suspecting  the 
Massoretes  of  having  here  intentionally  falsified  the  text.  Vau  and 
Yod  were  frequently  confused  in  the  editing  of  the  Hebrew  Bible. 
Moreover,  the  Massoretes  here  actually  indicated  in  the  margin  the 
reading  ka’ru . 

A  very  extraordinary  case  of  difference  between  the  Vulgate 
Psalter  and  the  Hebrew  is  the  insertion  in  the  Vulgate  text  of  Ps.  13 
the  passage, 

Sepulchrum  patens  est  guttur  eorum  : 
linguis  suis  dolose  agebant, 
venenum  aspidum  sub  labiis  eorum  ; 

Quorum  os  maledictione  et  amaritudine  plenum  est. 
veloces  pedes  eorum  ad  effundendum  sanguinem. 

Contritio  et  felicitas  in  viis  eorum, 
et  viam  pacis  non  cognoverunt : 
non  est  timor  Dei  ante  oculos  eorum. 

This  passage  as  it  stands  has  nothing  corresponding  to  it  in  the  Hebrew 
text.  But  it  occurs  exactly  in  the  form  here  given  in  St  Pauhs 
Epistle  to  the  Romans  3,13if.  Hence  it  has  been  conjectured  that 
the  passage  (which  is  largely  composed  of  psalm-texts)  has  been  trans- 
ferred  to  the  Psalter  from  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.1  The  New 
Testament  has  also,  in  the  view  of  some  scholars,  influenced  the 
text  of  the  Greek  Psalter  in  Ps.  39, 7.  Here  the  Vulgate  has  Aures 
perfecisti  mihi,  the  Massoretic  text,  ‘  Ears  thou  hast  dug  for  me/ 
and  the  Septuagint,  ‘  A  body  thou  hast  fashioned  for  me/  The  read¬ 
ing  ‘body’  2 * *  has  possibly  crept  into  the  Septuagint  from  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  10, 5 * .  The  difference  between  the  Vulgate  perfecisit 
and  the  Hebrew  *  thou  hast  dug  ’  is  due  apparently  to  the  fact  that 
where  the  Massoretes  read  karitha  (‘  thou  hast  dug  ’)  the  Greek  trans¬ 
latori  read  konanta  (‘  Thou  hast  fashioned  ’). 

Besides  the  peculiarities  of  the  Vulgate  Psalter  which  are  due  to 


1  The  insertion  is  found  also  in  the  Vatican  Codex  of  the  Septuagint. 

2  This  is,  however,  only  a  conjecture.  It  is  possible  that  the  author  of 
Hebrews  may  have  read  aw/xa  in  his  Greek  Psalter.  It  is  possible,  too,  that 
<ru>/xa  arose  originally  through  the  mistake  of  a  copyist  who  joined  the  a  of  the 

preceding  word  by  mistake  with  drria  and  then  read  2OTIA  as  21IMA.  In 
the  Psalterium  Romanum  we  have  corpus,  and  the  change  to  aures  in  the  Vulgate 
would  naturally  be  due  to  Jerome’s  study  of  Origen’s  Hexapla.  If  the  MS.  of 
the  Septuagint,  on  the  basis  of  which  Jerome  made  his  firs.t  revision  (the  Roman 

Psalter)  contained  aib/xa,  and  the  Hexaplaric  Septuagint  drria,  the  problem 

of  the  text  can  be  solved  without  the  hypothesis  of  a  borrowing  from  Hebrews. 
The  presence  of  au/xa  in  the  MS.  which  underlay  the  Psalterium  Romanum 

could  be  explained,  as  has  just  been  said,  by  the  theory  of  a  copyist's  error 

in  reading  twice  the  final  s  of  the  word  preceding  drria  and  then  regarding 
<n ena  as  aCo/i a.  The  author  of  Hebrews  may  have  used  a  Greek  MS.  like  that 
which  was  the  basis  of  Jerome's  first  revision.  The  versions  of  Aquila,  Sym¬ 
machus  and  Theodotion — ali  read  drria  here. 


INTRODUCTION 


xlv 


slavish  dependence  on  the  methods  of  the  Septuagint  translators, 
there  are  others  which  are  due  to  the  borrowing  in  the  Vulgate  of 
forms  of  the  language  of  the  Septuagint.  These  might  be  called 
‘  Graecisms  ’  in  the  striet  sense  of  the  word.  The  following  are  some 
of  the  commonest  ‘  Graecisms  ’  in  the  Latin  Psalter  : 

1.  Slavish  reproduction  of  Greek  words  and  phrases  :  nisi  quia  for 
h  /x>7  otl,  123, 1 ;  Ut  quid  for  Uva  tI,  4, 3  ;  Nequando  for  fxr)  nore,  7, 3  ; 
Ex  hoc  nunc  for  Ik  tov  vvv,  112,2  (hic  used  as  article)  ;  Supersperare 
for  €7reA7ri£av,  118,43 ;  Exerceri  for  /xeAeraj/,  118,15 ;  In  idipsum 
for  irrl  ro  a vto,  40>8- 

2.  The  use  of  two  Latin  words  to  render  a  compound  Greek  word  : 
haereditate  possideamus  =KA^povo/x4o-w/xev,  82, 13 ;  Legem  ponere  = 
voixodUtiv  (=‘teach’),  118,33.  Similarly,  simul  trahere  (‘  snatch 
away/  27, 3  ;  bene  patientes  (‘  flourishing  ’),  91, 15. 

3.  The  use  of  grammatical  constructi ons  unfamiliar  in  Latin,  but 

common  in  Greek  :  (a)  Attraction,  as  in  Comprehenduntur  in  consiliis 
quibus  cogitant,  9, 23 ;  (b)  Construction  of  comparative  with  genitive, 

Eripiens  inopem  de  manu  fortiorum  ejus,  34, 10 ;  (c)  Construction  of 
dominari  with  genitive,  21, 2'9  ;  (d)  Use  of  accusative  absolute  :  De¬ 
lictum  oris  eorum,  ‘  because  of  the  sin  of  their  mouth/  58, 13 ;  (e)  The 
Hebrew  use  of  the  construet  infinitive  which  the  Greek  could'  repro- 
duce  has  resulted  in  such  constructi  ons  as  :  In  conveniendo  poptdos 
in  unum,  ‘  When  the  peoples  gathered  together/  101,23  ;  In  deficiendo 
ex  me  spiritum  meum,  ‘  When  my  spirit  languishes/  141,4.  A  similar, 
but  stili  less  justifiable  construction  is,  In  convertendo  Dominus  captivi¬ 
tatem  Sion,  Ps.  125, L 

4.  Many  Greek  words  appear  in  the  Vulgate  Psalter — such  as, 
abyssus,  bruchus  (locust),  camus  (bridle),  calamus,  cathedra,  cete, 
christus,  cilicium,  cinifes,  cithara,  clerus  (lot,  share),  clibanus  (oven), 
cophinus  (basket),  crystallus  (ice),  ccenomyia  (dog-fly),  diplois  (mantle), 
eremus,  euge,  herodius  (stork),  neomenia,  nycticorax  (owl),  rhamnus 
(thorn-bush),  statera,  tympanistria,  etc.,  etc. 


(ii)  Semitisms  of  the  Vulgate  Psalter 

1.  The  feminine  is  used  for  the  neuter.  So  in  Ps.  26, 4,  Unam 
petii  a  Domino  hanc  requiram  ;  Ps.  118,5,6,  Haec  facta  est  mihi  ;  108, 27, 
Manus  tua  haec  (fecit)  et  tu  Domine  fecisti  eam. 

2.  The  comparative  is  expressed  by  the  prepositions  a  and  ex 
with  the  ablative  (corresponding  to  use  of  Hebrew  preposition  miri). 
Ps.  138, 6,  Mirabilis  facta  est  scientia  tua  ex  me  ;  Ps.  92, 3>4,  Elevaverunt 
flumina  fluctus  suos  a  vocibus  aquarum  multarum. 

The  preposition  super  is  sometimes  used  in  the  same  way  :  Super 
senes  intellexi,  118,100. 

3.  Verbs  like  addere,  adjicere,  apponere,  converti,  are  used  with 


xlvi 


INTRODUCTION 


other  verbs  to  express  the  idea  of  the  repetition  of  the  action  signi fied 
by  the  verbs  with  which  they  are  combined.  See  Ps.  84, 7 :  Deus  tu 
conversus  vivificabis  nos  ;  77, 17 ,  Apposuerunt  adhuc  peccare  ei,;  40, 9, 
Numquid  qui  dormit  non  adjiciet  ut  resurgat  ?  Analogous  construc- 
tions  are  :  Abundavit  ut  averteret,  JJ,3S ;  Magnificavit  facere,  125, 3  ; 
Cito  fecerunt,  obliti  sunt,  105 , 13  =  cito  obliti  sunt. 

4.  Constructions  like:  Civitas  cujus  participatio  ejus  in  idipsum, 
Ps.  121,3  ;  Beata  gens  cujus  est  Dominus  Deus  ejus,  32, 12  ;  Aaron, 
quem  elegit  ipsum,  104, 26,  in  which  a  demonstrative  pronoun  is  used 
redundantly  with  a  relative. 

5.  In  oaths  si  is  used  in  the  sense  of  ‘  surely  not/  and  si  non  in 
the  sense  of  ‘  surely/  So  in  94, n,  Si  introibunt  in  requiem  meam ; 
88, 36,  Semel  juravi  in  sancto  meo,  si  David  mentiar.  Cf.  131,3’4  ;  130, 2, 
Si  non  humiliter  sentiebam.  The  negative  form  of  affirmative  oaths 
and  the  affirmative  form  of  negative  oaths,  is  apparently  due  to  the 
fact  that  some  sort  of  imprecation  is  to  be  understood  as  introducing 
the  oath  :  “  May  so  and  so  happen  to  me  if  ”  ;  “  May  so  and  so 
happen  to  me  if  .  .  .  .  not.” 

6.  Expressions  of  wish  in  the  form,  Quis  dabit  ex  Sion  salutare 
Israel  (Oh,  that  the  rescue  of  Israel  might  be  given  from  Sion  ! )  13, 7  ; 
Quis  dabit  mihi  pennas  ?  54, 7. 

7.  Abstract  nouns  in  the  genitive  are  used  as  adjecti ves.  So, 
virga  directionis,  44, 7  =just  sceptre  ;  mons  sanctificationis,  77, 54  = 
holy  mount  ;  sacrificium  justitiae,  4,6,  ‘  a  due  sacrifice  ' ;  aqua  refectio¬ 
nis,  22 fi,  ‘  refreshing  water  ’  ;  funiculus  distributionis,  77 ,54,  ‘  measur- 
ing  line  *  ;  Deus  justitiae  meae,  4 fi,  '  my  just  God/ 

8.  Reduplications  such  as,  In  corde  et  corde  (with  double  heart,  ii,3)  : 
Homo  et  homo  ‘  very  many/  86, 5  ;  in  saecula  saeculorum  (for  all  ages). 
Similarly,  phrases  like  coelum  coeli  (‘  highest  heavens/  67, 34).  This 
is  the  same  kind  of  construction  as  Sanctum  sanctorum,  vanitas  vani¬ 
tatum,  canticum  canticorum. 

9.  The  preposition  in  ( =Hebrew  be)  used  with  ablative  to  express 
instrumentality :  Qui  non  egit  dolum  in  lingua  sua,  14, 3 ;  Ecce 
loquentur  in  ore  suo,  58,®.  A  somewhat  similar  use  is  shown  in 
phrases  like  Vox  Domini  in  virtute  ( =with  power,  28, 4).  The  con¬ 
struction  videre  in  aliquo  is  used  to  express  the  idea  of  seeing  gladly 
the  misfortunes  of  others,  and  audire  in  aliquo  means  to  hear  with 
joy  of  another’s  failure,  91, 12. 

10.  Such  phrases  as  a  facie,  ante  faciem,  in  conspectu,  in  ore,  de 
manu,  instead  of  simple  prepositions  ;  constructions  like  adhaesit 
anima  post  te,  62, 9  ;  Esto  mihi  in  Deum,  30, 3  ;  constitues  me  in 
caput,  gentium  17, 44. 

11.  Such  forms  of  expressi on  as,  avertere  faciem,  exaltare  cornu, 
deprecari  vultum  (‘  pay  homage/  44, 13)  ;  videre  in  bonitate  ( =frui 
bono,  105, 5)  ;  omnibus  eis  nomina  vocat,  146 fi.  Pregnant  phrases 
like,  Exaudivit  me  in  latitudine,  117,5. 


INTRODUCTION 


xlvii 


ii.  Several  Hebrew  words  are  simply  transliterated  in  the  Psalter 
- — AUeluja,  Cherub,  Jubilum,  Sabbatum. 


(iii)  Peculiarities  of  the  Vulgar  Latin  of  the  Psalter 

(1)  Compound  verbs  are  used  frequently  where  classical  Latin 
would  use  simple  verbs :  abire,  i,1,  for  ire ;  distillare,  67, 9,  for 
stillare  ;  retribuere,  118,17,  for  tribuere  ;  proponere,  136, 6,  for  ponere. 

(2)  Transitive  verbs  are  used  intransitively,  and  vice  versa : 
convertere  for  retroire,  9,4  ;  elongare  for  procul  discedere,  54/  ;  emigrare 
for  expellere,  51, 7.  Cognoscere  and  derelinquere  are  also  used  intran¬ 
sitively.  Complacere  is  transitive  34, 14  and  also  exsultare,  50, 15. 

(3)  Deponents  are  used  as  passives  :  consolari  (permit  oneself  to 
be  comforted,  76, 3)  ;  deprecari  = placari,  134, 14. 

(4)  Passives  are  used  like  the  Greek  middle  :  Laudatur  ( =gloriatur), 
9, 24  ;  cf.  Ps.  33, 3,  In  Domino  laudabitur  anima  mea. 

(5)  Objects  of  verbs  are  often  omitted — avertere  (faciem),  intendere 
(animam),  dirigere  (viam),  etc. 

(6)  Preposition  in  is  used  with  ablative  instead  of  accusative  : 
Insurgentes  in  nobis,  43, 6  ;  Sicut  oculi  servorum  in  manibus  dominorum, 
122, 2 ;  Scribantur  haec  in  generatione  altera,  101,19  ;  Humiliavit  in 
terra  vitam  meam,  142, 3,  etc.,  etc. 

New  prepositional  forms  are  used  :  de  post,  77, 70,  de  longe,  desuper, 
desursum. 

(7)  Adverbs  are  used  in  unfamiliar  meanings  :  contra  instead  of 
coram,  50, 5 ;  nimis  instead  of  valde,  m,1 ;  ab  intus  instead  of 
intrinsecus,  44, 14  ;  paulo  minus  instead  of  propemodum,  93, 17 . 

Adverbial  phrases  are  also  used  strangely.  So,  sine  causa  fer 
frustra  or  inutiliter,  72, 13. 

Unfamiliar  adverbs  are  often  used,  such  as  fiducialiter ,  singulariter , 
supervacue,  velociter,  voluntarie. 

(8)  Unusual  meanings  of  nouns  and  adjectives  :  adeps,  unresponsive 
heart,  16, 11 ;  assumptio,  protection,  88, 19  ;  adinventio,  work,  deed, 
76, 13,  etc.;  confessio,  praise  ;  correctio,  support,  96, 2  ;  cantabilis, 
praiseworthy,  118,54  ;  commutatio,  successor,  88, 5 2 ;  creditus,  loyal, 
7 7,8 ;  directio,  uprightness,  118,7 ;  emundatio,  glory,  88, 45  ;  framea, 
sword,  21, 21 ;  foetosus,  fruitful,  143, 13 ;  gutta,  sweet  scented  oil,  44,®  ; 
incola,  stranger,  118,19 ;  incolatus,  exile,  119,5  ;  ignitum,  tried  by 
fire,  118,140 ;  imperium,  strength,  85, 16 ;  linguosus,  slanderer,  139, 12  ; 
maturitas,  early  morning,  118,147;  oratio,  prayer,  (passini) ;  peccatum, 
offering  for  sin,  39, 7  ;  principatus,  sum,  138, 17  ;  potentatus,  ‘  at  most,’ 
89, 10  ;  patriae,  tribes,  95/  ;  reverentia,  shame,  68, 20  ;  sanctificatio, 
shrine,  95, 6. 

(9)  Many  unfamiliar  words  are  used:  sagittare,  shoot  with  arrows, 
io,3  ;  obviare,  meet,  84, 41,  etc. 


xlviii 


INTRODUCTION 


(io)  Unusual  forms.  Plurals  of  words  which  are  used,  as  a  rule, 
only  in  singular  are  common :  aequitates,  iniquitates,  intentiones, 
misericordiae,  sanguines,  veritates. 

Unusual  verbal  forms  occur,  such  as :  frenduerunt,  34, 16 ;  odire 
odivit,  25, 5  ;  35, 5  ;  100, 3  ;  odientes,  17, 40  ;  metibor,  59, 8  ;  partibor, 

59>8- 

Other  features  of  the  language  of  the  Vulgate  Psalter  which 
belong  to  it  in  common  with  Vulgar  Latin  generally,  such  as  its 
tendency  to  set  up  new  word-formations  with  sonorous  endings,  to 
form  new  verbs  from  nouns  and  adjecti ves,  to  employ  new  compounds 
as  nouns,  adjectives  and  verbs,  etc.,  etc.,  do  not  require  to  be  specially 
consi dered  here. 

From  all  that  has  been  said  about  the  text  of  the  Vulgate  Psalter, 
it  is  obvious  that  that  Psalter  is  not  an  ideal  translati on.  Jerome’s 
direct  translati  on  of  the  Psalter  from  the  Hebrew  is  a  much  closer 
approach  to  the  original  sense  of  the  psalms  ;  yet  it  was  not  accepted 
by  the  Church  as  an  ofhcial  text  in  St.  Jerome’s  day,  nor  at  any 
subsequent  period.  We  stili  recite  the  Psalter  according  to  the  text 
of  the  Psalterium  Gallicanum.  There  is,  no  doubt,  often  a  wonderful 
strength  and  beauty  in  the  Vulgate  rendering  of  the  Psalms,  and  a 
new  rendering  of  the  Psalter  in  Latin  based  on  all  the  work  of  modern 
scholarship  would  probably  be  as  unpopular  now  as  was  Jerome’s 
Psalterium  juxta  Hebraeos  at  the  end  of  the  fourth  century.  The 
revision  of  the  Vulgate  inaugurat ed  by  Pope  Pius  X  in  1907  and 
entrusted  to  the  care  of  the  Benedictine  Order  does  not,  apparently, 
aim  at  replacing  the  text  of  any  book  of  the  Vulgate  by  a  text  that 
might  be  per  se  more  reliable,  but  only  at  re-establishing  the  genuine 
text  of  St.  Jerome’s  Vulgate.  As  long  as  the  Gallican  Psalter  with 
all  its  obscurity  and  difhculty  has  to  be  read  in  the  Breviary  it  will 
be  practically  impossible  for  those  who  are  bound  to  recite  the  Divine 
Office  to  grasp  the  meaning  of  the  Psalms  without  a  preliminary  study 
of  the  history  and  exegesis  of  the  Vulgate  Text.1 


V. — The  Poetical  Form  of  the  Psalms2 

Apart  from  their  beauty  of  language  and  the  intensity  of  feeling 
which  they  express,  the  Vulgate  Psalms  convey  little  suggestion  of 
poetry.  Neither  the  Greek  translators  nor  their  Latin  successors 


1  The  Latin  text  which  is  printed  in  the  Commentary  is  the  text  of  the 
Breviary  Psalter.  The  superscriptions,  which  are  wanting  in  the  Psalter  of 
the  Breviary,  have  been  added  from  Hetzenauer’s  edition  of  the  Vulgate.  The 
numbering  of  the  verses  is  the  same  as  that  in  Hetzenauer,  but  the  punctuation 
of  the  Breviary  Psalter  has  been  left  unchanged. 

2  The  problems  of  Hebrew  poetry  may  be  studied  very  agreeably  in  the 
following  :  Buchanan  Gray,  “The  Forms  of  Hebrew  Poetry”;  G.  A.  Smith, 


INTRODUCTION 


xlix 


made  any  serious  attempt  to  give  a  poetic  rendering  of  the  Hebrew 
originals.  Yet,  as  it  were,  in  spite  of  the  translators,  something  of 
the  external  poetical  form  of  the  Hebrew  psalms  has  passed  over  into 
the  Greek  and  Latin  translations.  Hence,  even  in  a  work  like  the 
present,  in  which  the  Hebrew  text  is  used  merely  as  a  means  for  ex- 
plaining  the  Vulgate,  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  discuss  very  briefly 
the  poetical  structure  of  the  Hebrew  psalms. 

Hebrew  poetry  differs  considerably  in  structure  from  most  forms 
of  European  poetry.  It  shows  very  rarely  any  tendency  to  rhyme 
or  vowel  assonance.  Its  metre  is  so  difhcult  to  understand  that 
some  scholars  refuse  to  believe  that  it  possesses  any  definite  form  of 
metre.  Further,  it  is  dominated  by  what  is  known  as  the  ‘  parallelism 
of  members.'  As  this  third  peculiari ty  of  Hebrew  poetry  survives 
in  the  Greek  and  Vulgate  prose  translations  of  the  Psalter,  we  shall 
consider  it  first. 

The  most  casual  reader  of  the  Vulgate  Psalter  will  notie  e  how 
frequently  the  same  thought  is  repeated  in  a  single  verse,  as,  for 
instance : 

Noli  aemulari  in  malignantibus, 
neque  zelaveris  facientes  iniquitatem. 

Quoniam  tanquam  foenum  velociter  arescent, 
et  quemadmodum  olera  herbarum  cito  decident — (36,  M) 

Here  the  same  prohibition  is  twice  repeated  in  the  first  verse,  and  the 
same  reason  for  it  is  twice  stated  in  the  second.  This  kind  of  double 
statement  of  a  thought  within  a  verse,  this  balancing  against  the 
first  half  of  a  verse  an  echo,  as  it  were,  of  itself ,  is  a  strikingly  obvious 
feature  of  the  psalms.  Sometimes  the  thought  is  not  balanced  against 
an  echo  of  itself,  but  against  its  opposite — the  second  half  of  the  line 
reversing,  like  the  back  swing  of  a  pendulum,  the  thought-movement 
of  the  first,  as  in  Ps.  i,6  : 

Quoniam  novit  Dominus  viam  justorum 
et  iter  impiorum  peribit. 

Sometimes  the  thought  conveyed  in  the  first  part  of  a  verse  is  ex- 
panded  or  explained  by  the  remaining  part  or  parts  of  the  verse. 
Note,  for  example,  the  development  of  the  thought  in  Ps.  i,1 : 

Beatus  vir  qui  non  abiit  in  consilio  impiorum 
et  in  via  peccatorum  non  stetit, 

et  in  cathedra  pestilentium  non  sedit. 


“  The  Early  Poetry  of  Israel  ”  ;  E.  G.  King,  “  Early  Religious  Poetry  of  the 
Hebrews  ”  ;  W.  H.  Cobb,  “  A  Criticism  of  Systems  of  Hebrew  Metre.”  The 
Psalter  has  been  closely  studied  on  its  metrical  side  by  the  Catholic  scholar 
Prof.  Nivard  Schlogl  of  Vienna.  The  basis  of  his  metrical  theory  is  fully  laid 
down  in  his  essay.  Die  echte  biblisch-hebraische  Metrik  (Freiburg,  1912)  ;  his 
System  is  applied  in  his  two  valuable  commentaries,  Die  Psalmen,  hebraisch  und 
deutsch  (Vienna,  1911),  and  Die  Psalmen  in  his  edition  of  the  Old  Testament 
(Vienna  and  Leipzig,  1915). 


1 


INTRODUCTION 


Note  again  Ps.  40, 2,  where  the  second  part  of  the  verse  gives  a  reason 
for  the  first : 

Beatus  qui  intelligit  super  egenum  et  pauperem 
in  die  mala  liberabit  eum  Dominus. 

Sometimes  the  second  part  of  the  verse  is  an  inference  from  the  first, 
as  in  Ps.  84, 7  : 

Deus  tu  conversus  vivificabis  nos 
et  plebs  tua  laetabitur  in  te. 

In  so-called  parallelism,  then,  the  thought  of  the  first  part  of  a  verse 
is  either  echoed,  or  reversed,  or  expanded  in  the  second,  and  these 
three  kinds  of  parallelism  are  known  as  synonymous,  antithetic  and 
synthetic.  There  are  other  forms  of  parallelism  of  a  more  compli- 
cated  kind  which  need  not  be  here  considered.  The  three  kinds  just 
mentioned  are  very  familiar  in  the  Psalter.  As  in  our  rhyming  poetry 
the  rhyme  ends  or  stops  the  line,  so  the  parallelism  acts  as  a  line- 
determinant  in  Hebrew  poetry,  and  thus  produces  a  portion  of  that 
balance  or  symmetry  which  is  necessary  to  poetry  as  distinguished 
from  prose.  The  origin  of  parallelism  is  variously  explained,  but  we 
are  concerned  here  with  its  function,  and  not  with  theories  as  to  its 
origin.  In  the  study  of  the  Psalms  parallelism  is  of  the  first  im- 
portance,  for  we  can  often  determine  the  meaning  of  an  obscure  line 
by  reading  it  in  the  light  of  its  less  obscure  parallel.  Thus,  for  ex- 
ample,  in  Ps.  75,®  : 

Et  factus  est  in  pace  locus  ejus 
et  habitatio  ejus  in  Sion. 

the  second  half  of  the  verse  shows  that  in  pace  ought  to  be  read  ‘  in 
S halem  ’  (i. e.  Jerusalem  ;  the  Hebrew  Shalom,  ‘peace,’  and  Shalem, 
‘  Jerusalem  ’  would  be  indistinguishable  in  a  consonantal  text).  So 
again  in  Ps.  67, 23  : 

Dixit  Dominus  :  Ex  Basan  convertam 

convertam  in  profundum  maris, 

it  is  ciear  from  the  parallelism  that  the  second  part  of  the  verse  ought 
to  be  convertam  ex  profundo  maris. 

The  careful  reader  of  the  Psalms  will  note  how  the  lines  are 
balanced  against  each  other  and  explain  each  other,  and  thus  he  will 
be  able,  as  a  rule,  to  attach  likely  meanings  to  the  most  obscure  verses. 

Parallelism  is  not  confined  to  Hebrew  poetry  :  it  is  very  familiar 
in  the  poetry  of  ancient  Egypt  and  Babylon  also,  and  it  is  present 
more  or  less  in  the  simpler  folk-poetry  of  the  European  peoples. 
Rhyme  is  a  balancing  of  similar  sounds  :  parallelism  is  a  balancing  of 
thoughts.  Just  as  the  rhyming  words  mark  the  end  of  the  line  in 
European  poetry,  so  the  line  in  Hebrew  is  determined,  in  a  sense,  by 
the  thought  which  it  conveys.  But,  as  with  rhyme  there  goes  a  certain 


INTRODUCTION 


li 


measurement  of  lines  in  Western  poetry,  so  in  Hebrew  poetry  the 
balanced  lines  may  not  vary  greatly  from  each  other  in  length. 
In  connection  with  the  measurement  of  these  lines  a  great  number 
of  theories  have  .been  put  forward  which  it  would  be  profitless  to 
enumerate  here.  It  is  now  widely  admitted  that  the  metrical  balane  e 
of  the  connected  lines  in  a  verse  is  not  due  to  any  equality  or  other 
mathematical  relation  in  the  number  of  syllables  in  the  balanced  lines. 
Hebrew  metre  is  not  primarily  dependent  on  number  of  feet  or  on  the 
quantity  of  syllables  ;  it  is  dependent  rather  on  the  number  of  stresses 
or  accent-beats,  and  connected  lines  are  definitely  related  to  each  other 
by  the  number  of  their  stressed  syllables.  Yet  there  is  not  certainty  in 
every  case  as  to  the  number  of  stresses  in  a  line  of  Hebrew  poetry,  and 
in  the  same  poem  there  may  be  great  varieties  of  metre  (i. e.  in  the 
number  of  stresses  in  the  groups  of  balanced  lines).  The  English 
translation  of  the  Psalter  in  this  work  is  intended  to  show  roughly, 
by  the  way  in  which  it  is  printed,  the  connection  of  lines  in  parallelism ; 
but  as  a  translation  of  the  Vulgate  it  could  not,  of  course,  pretend  to 
suggest  the  rhythm  of  the  Hebrew  original.  In  the  translation  it 
will  be  noticed  that,  as  a  rule,  the  psalms  are  broken  up  into  groups 
of  verses.  These  groups  are  not  always  stanzas  of  equal  length  in 
the  same  poem.  When  they  are  examined  it  will  be  seen  that  in 
each  such  strophe,  or  group  of  connected  verses,  a  more  or  less  com¬ 
plete  thought  is  expressed.  Just  as  lines  are  related  to  each  other 
within  a  verse  by  parallelism,  so  the  strophes  are  often  related  to 
each  other  within  a  psalm  by  something  resembling  parallelism. 
For  the  most  part  it  is  possible  to  identify  strophes  only  by  the 
thought-connection  which  holds  them  together.  But  sometimes  we 
have  external  indicati ons  of  the  presence  and  structure  of  such  strophes. 
Such,  for  instance,  are  the  refrains  which  occur  in  Ps.  41,  42,  45,  56, 
58,  61,  66,  79,  98.  Another  indication  is  the  obscure  word  Selah 
(but  sometimes  it  is  obviously  out  of  place).  In  the  alphabetical 
psalms  a  new  strophe  is  sometimes  indicated  by  each  succeeding 
letter  of  the  alphabet.  The  best  example  of  the  alphabet  indication 
of  strophes  is  Ps.  118  in  which  strophes  of  eight  verses  each  are  held 
together  by  the  identity  of  their  initial  consonants.  In  Ps.  9  and  36 
there  are  two  verses  to  each  letter.  In  Ps.  24,  33,  144  each  single 
verse,  and  in  Ps.  no  and  m  each  separate  half  verse  (i. e.  line)  begins 
with  a  different  letter.  In  the  cases  of  these  psalms  there  is,  of  course, 
no  question  of  strophic  structure.  There  are  other  external  or  formal 
criterias  of  strophes  which  are  too  technical  to  be  discussed  in  an  intro- 
duction  like  the  present.  It  is  enough  to  have  indicated  here  that 
there  are  often  two  separate  kinds  of  unity  within  the  single  psalm — 
the  verse  consisting  of  two  lines  which  echo  or  balance  each  other, 
and  the  strophe  consisting  of  groups  of  verses  held  together  by  simi- 
larity  of  thought,  or  by  obvious  external  structure.  Just  as  the 
parallelism  of  lines  is  often  useful  in  explaining  or  reconstructing 


lii 


INTRODUCTION 


obscure  lines,  so  the  recognition  of  strophes  often  explains  such 
apparent  irregularities  or  inconsistencies  as  the  appearance  within  a 
single  psalm  of  different  or  contrasted  points  of  view.  One  often  meets 
in  a  psalm  a  sudden  change  of  theme,  or  an  unexpected  transition 
from  third  to  first  person,  or  an  apparently  unmotived  change  of 
mood  on  the  part  of  the  psalmist.  The  strophic  structure  of  the 
psalms  which  introduces  inevitably  a  quasi-dramatic  element  will 
often  be  found  to  explain  these  peculiarities. 

The  poetical  form  of  the  psalms  is  so  wide  a  subject  that  it  can 
be  only  thus  briefly  referred  to  in  this  Introduction.  A  few  illustra- 
tions  showing  approximately  the  rhythmic  and  strophic  structure 
of  the  Hebrew  originals  will  serve  to  make  the  foregoing  remarks  more 
intelligible. 

Ps.  136 — The  Song  of  the  Exiles 

By  the  waters  of  Babel 
We  sat  and  did  weep, 

For  our  thoughts  were  on  Sion. 

On  the  willows  that  stood  there 
We  hung  up  our  harps. 

There  did  our  captors 
Ask  of  us  songs, 

Our  jailers  a  mirth-song  ! 

*  Sing  us  a  song, 

A  song  of  Sion  !  ’ 

How  shall  we  sing 
A  song  of  Yahweh 

On  the  soil  of  the  stranger  ? 

If  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem, 

Then  wither  my  right  hand  ; 

Cleave  my  tongue  to  my  palate 
If  I  remember  thee  not, 

If  I  make  thee  not,  Jerusalem, 

Chief  source  of  my  joy  ! 

O  Yahweh,  remember 
The  children  of  Edom, 

JerusalenTs  day, 

When  they  cried  out  :  ‘  Destroy  ye  !  Destroy, 

To  her  deepest  foundations.’ 

Thou  ra vager  Babel  ! 

Happy  he  who  shall  pay  thee, 

Shall  pay  back  what  thou  gavest  us. 

Happy  he  who  shall  seize  and  shall  shatter 
Ihy  babes  'gainst  the  rock  ! 


INTRODUCTION 


liii 


The  poem  passes,  strophe  by  strophe,  from  the  picture  of  the 
exiles’  gloom  to  the  cynical  demands  of  their  captors,  and  then  to 
the  reply — first  of  the  exiles  generally,  and  then  of  the  psalmist 
himself.  Then,  as  if  in  contrast  with  the  song  of  Sion  so  mockingly 
asked  for,  the  concluding  strophes  forecast  the  doom  of  Sion’s 
destroyers. 

The  beautiful  ode  on  the  blessings  of  home,  Ps.  127,  illustrates 
well  the  quasi -dramatic  character  which  strophic  structure  gives  to 
the  psalms. 

Happy  he  who  feareth  Yahweh, 

Who  guideth  his  life  by  His  words. 

The  fruit  of  thy  toil  thou  dost  eat. 

Good  luck  !  Every  blessing  be  thine  ! 

Like  a  fruitful  vine  is  thy  wife, 

Hid  away  in  thy  house. 

Thy  sons  are  like  shoots  of  the  olive, 

When  they  sit  round  thy  board. 

Even  thus  shall  be  blessed  the  man 
Who  feareth  Yahweh. 

May  Yahweh  thee  bless  from  Sion, 

1 


Mayest  thou  see  Jerusalem  happy 
All  the  days  of  thy  life  ? 

Mayest  thou  look  on  the  sons  of  thy  sons. 

In  Israel  peace  ! 

In  Ps.  22 — the  psalm  of  the  Good  Shepherd — there  is  a  very  striking 
contrast  of  strophes  by  which  the  different  aspects  of  God’s  loving 
care  are  set  forth. 


Yahweh  is  my  Shepherd,  I  lack  naught. 

On  pastures  green  He  doth  feed  me. 
By  waters  of  rest  He  doth  lead  me  : 

He  refresheth  my  soul. 

He  guideth  me  ever  on  right  ways 
Because  of  His  name. 

And  whenever  I  pass 

Through  the  gloom  of  the  valley, 

No  ili  do  I  fear. 

For  Thou  goest  before  me  ; 

Thy  staff  Thou  dost  lean  on — 
Therein  is  my  comfort. 


1  A  line  is  missing  here. 


liv 


INTRODUCTION 


Thou  spreadest  before  me  a  table 
In  the  sight  of  my  foes. 

With  oil  Thou  anointest  my  head  ; 

Well  filled  is  my  cup. 

So  may  goodness  and  favour  pursue  me  ; 

Ali  the  days  of  my  life  ! 

I  will  dwell  in  the  House  of  Yahweh 
Through  the  length  of  the  days. 

As  the  poetry  of  the  Ancient  East — the  poetry  of  the  Sumerians, 
Babylonians  and  Egyptians — has  come  to  be  more  and  more  studied 
in  recent  times,  it  has  been  gradually  realised  that  Hebrew  poetry 
in  its  metrical  technique  or  external  form  is  closely  akin  to  the  poetry 
of  IsraePs  ancient  neighbours.  And  it  has  been  fonnd  also  that  its 
kinship  with  the  poetry  of  the  rest  of  the  ancient  Near  East  extends 
beyond  metrical  form,  and  appears,  to  some  extent,  in  similarity  of 
theme  or  subject-matter.  Just  as  the  Hebrew  Psalter  is  a  collecti on 
of  exclusively  religious  poems,  so  the  poetry  of  Babylon  and  Egypt 
is  mainly  religious.  But  most  scholara — including  even  those  who 
would  link  up  most  closely  the  Psalter  with  heathen  religious  poetry 
of  the  Ancient  East,  insist  on  the  wonderful  superiority  of  the  Psalms 
over  ali  contemporary  or  earlier  religious  poetry  in  its  moral  and 
theological  outlook.  Thus  the  literary  connection  of  the  Psalter  with 
ancient  poetry  serves  only  to  bring  into  clearer  prominence  the  di  vini  ty 
of  the  religion  which  underlies  it.  It  is  only  in  the  Psalter  of  Israel 
that  the  supernatural  in  the  fullest  sense  is  recognised  as  a  factor  in 
human  affairs  (cf.  Ps.  39,  49,  50).  There  are  many  so-called  peni- 
tential  psalms  in  Babyloni  an  literature,1  but  these  are  very  often 
nothing  more  than  fragments  of  magical  or  quasi-magical  literature, 
and  do  not  show  any  of  that  consciousness  of  guilt  on  the  part  of 
Babylonian  worshippers  which  the  Hebrew  psalmist  reveals.  It  is 
only  in  the  Psalter  that  we  find  expressed  the  sure  and  confident 
hope  of  the  coming  of  a  kingdom  of  God  in  which  all  peoples  will  find 
a  place — a  kingdom  in  which  love  and  truth,  salvation  and  peace  shall 
reign  (cf.  Ps.  84, 11 ;  71  ;  92-98,  etc.,  etc.). 

It  is  interesting  for  those  of  us  who  are  bound  to  the  daily  recita- 
tion  of  the  Psalter  to  realise  that  we  are  using  formulae  of  prayer 
and  praise  which  voiced  the  thoughts  and  longings  of  ancient  Israel. 
The  Hymnal  of  the  second  Temple  has  become  our  Hymnal  also, 


1  Cf.  Jastrow,  Die  Religion  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  Giessen,  1905-1911. 
Zimmern,  Babylonische  Busspsalmen,  Leipzig,  1885  ;  Babylonische  Hymnen  und 
Gebete  in  Auswahl,  Leipzig,  1905  ;  Edelkoort,  Het  Zondebesef  in  de  Babylonische 
Boetepsalmen.  Utrecht,  1918.  The  psalm-commentaries  of  Kittel  (Leipzig, 

1914),  Staerk  ( Lyrik  des  a.  Test.  Gottingen,  1920)  and  Gunkel  ( Ausgewahlte 
Psalmen.  Gottingen,  1917)  make  extensive  use  of  Babylonian  parallels  in  ex- 
plaining  the  Psalter  »but  their  work  is  somewhat  one-sided  and  needs  to  be  used 
with  cautio  n. 


INTRODUCTION 


lv 


and  we  pray  to  God  and  praise  Him  with  words  which  were  devised 
for  worship  by  men  of  Israel  who  lived  centuries  before  Plato  and 
Aristotle  were  born.  The  Hymnal  of  Israel  is  as  much  superior  to 
the  religious  poetry  of  Babylon  and  Egypt  as  Christianity  is  to 
Paganism. 


VI. — The  Purpose  of  the  Psalter 

The  Psalter  is  not  a  mere  anthology  of  Hebrew  poetry  collected 
for  literary  purposes.  Neither  is  it  a  collecti on  of  poems  meant  to 
illustrate  the  history  of  Israel.  It  is  primarily  a  collection  of  sacred 
songs  meant  to  be  used  in  the  Liturgy.  Several  of  the  psalms  are 
assigned  by  their  superscriptions  to  definite  liturgical  purposes.  Thus 
the  following  are  set  apart  to  be  sung  during  the  offering  of  the  daily 
morning  holocaust  (the  so-called  Tamid)  on  the  different  days  of  the 
week :  On  Sunday,  Ps.  23  ;  Monday,  Ps.  47  ;  Tuesday,  Ps.  81  ; 
Wednesday,  Ps.  93  (and  also  100)  ;  Thursday,  Ps.  80  ;  Friday,  Ps.  92  ; 
Sabbath,  Ps.  91  (also  37). 

On  the  festivals  other  sacrifices  were  offered  in  addition  to  the 
Tamid,  and  certain  psalms  were  also  set  apart  to  be  sung  during  the 
offering  of  those  additi onal  sacrifices.  Thus  to  the  days  of  the  Feast 
of  Tabernacles,  from  the  2nd  to  the  8th  were  assigned  :  Ps.  28  ; 
49,16jf;  93, 16^;  93,7-^;  80,' 64  (according  to  Septuagint 
28).  To  the  Feast  of  the  New  Year,  Ps.  80  was  assigned  for  the 
morning  and  Ps.  28  the  afternoon. 

During  the  slaying  of  the  Paschal  Lamb  the  psalms  of  the  Hallel 
(112-117)  were  sung.  Portions  of  the  Hallel  (especially  Ps.  117) 
were  also  prescribed  to  be  sung  during  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles. 
Ali  these  speci al  prescriptions  in  regard  to  the  use  of  psalms  were  made 
in  view  of  the  liturgy  of  the  Temple.  We  know,  however,  that 
psalms  were  also  largely  used  in  the  worship  of  the  Synagogue.  Our 
information  on  this  matter  is,  however,  meagre.  It  is  known  that 
in  the  Synagogue  Ps.  7  was  chanted  on  the  Feast  of  Purim,  Ps.  28 
at  Pentecost,  Ps.  29  on  the  Feast  of  Dedication,  Ps.  83  or  104  at 
Pasch,  Ps.  136  on  the  anniversary  of  the  destruction  of  the  Temple. 
The  Hallel,  112-117,  was  chanted  at  the  three  great  festivals  :  Pasch, 
Pentecost  and  Tabernacles.  Apparently  the  psalms  were  not  as  a 
rule  chanted  or  recited  unbrokenly  in  the  Synagogue  Services  ;  as 
each  verse  of  a  psalm  was  recited  or  chanted,  the  people  answered 
with  an  expressi  on  of  praise  to  God — as  we  can  see  in  Ps.  135. 

We  have  in  the  Old  Testament  itself  some  examples  of  the  use 
of  the  psalms  in  the  Temple  liturgy.  In  I  Par.  i6,8^,  we  see  how  the 
Levites  chanted  Ps.  104, 15  and  95, 1-13,  ending  with  a  proclamation 
of  God’s  praise  (105, *)  and  an  exhortation  to  the  people  to  ask  God’s 
help  and  to  give  Him  praise  (Ps.  105, 47>48).  The  people  answer 
*  Arnen  '  and  join  in  praising  the  Lord.  In  many  cases — particularly 


Ivi 


INTRODUCTION 


in  the  use  of  those  psalms  wliich  begin  with  hallelu-yah — the  psalms 
were  sung  by  a  chanter  while  a  choir  or  the  people  burst  out  into  a 
cry  of  God’s  praise  after  each  verse  (as  in  Ps.  135  ;  cf.  II.  Paral.  7  ; 
Esdras  3,  10>11). 

It  may  be  assumed  that  the  psalms  were  used  also  in  the  devotions 
of  families  and  individuals.  We  know  that  the  Hallel  was  sung  at 
the  Paschal  Supper — half  of  it  being  sung  before  the  Supper  and  the 
other  half  after  it  (cf.  Matt.  26, 30).  Individuals  will  have  used  the 
psalms  just  as  we  do  in  their  prayers,  and  to  express  their  religious 
emoti ons,  for  even  though  the  Psalter  as  a  whole  may  owe  its  origin 
to  liturgical  needs,  yet  the  individual  psalms  of  which  it  is  composed 
present  some  of  the  most  perfect  types  of  prayer  conceivable — perfect 
not  merely  for  the  communi ty,  but  for  the  individual. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  how  very  frequently  Our  Lord  refers  to 
the  psalms  (cf.  John  10, 34-36  ;  Matt.  21,41"46;  John  15, 25).  As  He 
hung  on  the  Cross  He  recited  Ps.  21,  and  His  last  word  on  the  Cross 
was  a  passage  from  the  psalms  (Ps.  30, 6).  The  Apostles  imitated 
Our  Lord  in  the  constant  use  of  the  psalms  in  their  preaching.  The 
Christian  Church  in  taking  the  psalms  as  her  great  model  of  praise 
and  prayer  has  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  her  Founder.  In  the 
Christian  Church,  as  in  the  Jewish  Temple,  the  Psalter  is  the  chief 
source  of  liturgical  prayer. 


VII. — The  Superscriptions  of  the  Psalms 

Most  of  the  psalms  bear  superscriptions  or  tities  which  give  informa- 
tion  of  a  varied  kind  about  the  origin  and  use  of  the  psalms.  In  the 
Graeco-Latin  Psalter  only  two  psalms — the  first  and  second — have  no 
title  ;  in  the  Massoretic  Psalter  there  are  thirty-nine  without  title. 
The  tities  vary  greatly  in  iength  and  character.  They  give,  as  a  rule, 
some  or  all  of  the  following  details  : 

(a)  Name  of  author  or  of  the  person  or  persons  to  whom  the 

psalm  peculiarly  belonged. 

(b)  Occasion  of  the  psalm. 

(c)  Class  of  poem  to  which  the  psalm  could  be  assigned. 

(d)  Notes  on  musical  or  other  technical  features  connected  with 

the  chanting  of  the  psalm. 

(e)  Liturgical  directions. 

It  is  very  seldom  that  a  psalm-title  gives  information  on  all  these 
points,1  and  it  is  to  be  noted  that  there  is  not  complete  agreement 
in  the  text  of  the  tities  even  between  the  Septuagint  and  the  Vulgate 
Psalters.  The  psalm-titles  are  omitted  in  the  Breviary  Psalter. 


1  C/.  Ps.  59,  58,  56,  55»  etc.,  etc.f 


INTRODUCTION 


Ivi  i 


They  are,  however,  so  important  for  the  history  of  the  Psalter  that 
they  must  be  considered  at  least  briefly  here. 

(a)  Nantes  of  author  or  of  the  person  or  persons  to  whom  the  psalm 

peculiarly  belonged 

In  the  tities  of  seventy-three  Massoretic  psalms  occurs  the  ex¬ 
pressi  on  leDawid.  This  has  been  rendered  in  the  Septuagint  by 
T(f  Aa vi8,  and  in  the  Vulgate  by  David  (apparently  a  genitive)  or 
ipsi  David.  In  the  Vulgate  eighty-five  psalms  are  thus  Associated 
with  the  name  of  David.  The  Vulgate  similarly  associates  twelve 
psalms  with  the  name  of  Asaph,  eleven  with  the  Korachites  [filii 
Core),  one  with  Moses  (89),  one  (or,  perhaps,  two)  with  Solomon  (126 
and  71),  one  with  Ethan  (88),  one  with  Heman  (87).  The  name  of 
Yeduthun  (or  Yedithun)  occurs  in  the  tities  of  Ps.  38,  61  and  76. 
Ps.  136  is  associated  in  the  Vulgate  and  some  MSS.  of  the  Septuagint 
with  the  names  of  Jeremias  and  David.  In  the  Septuagint  Ps.  145- 
148  are  connected  with  the  names  of  the  prophets  Aggaeus  and 
Zachary  (the  Vulgate  connects  with  these  names  only  Ps.  145).  Ps.  64 
is  called  in  the  Vulgate  title  a  ‘  Psalm  of  David  '  and  a  *  Song  of 
Jeremias  and  Ezechiel  ’)  ;  so  similarly,  Ps.  70  is  assigned  both  to 
David  and  the  ‘  sons  of  Jonadab.’  In  the  Massoretic  Psalter  fifty- 
two  psalms,  and  in  the  Graeco-Latin  Psalter  forty  psalms  are  not 
connected  in  this  way  with  the  name  of  any  individual  as  a  possible 
author. 

It  has  been  long  a  hotly  disputed  question  whether  the  preposition 
le  in  the  tities  of  the  psalms  ever  really  indicates  authorship.  It  has 
also  been  much  debated  whether,  granting  that  le  does  indicate 
authorship,  tities  which  contain  such  statement  of  authorship  can 
be  accepted  as  reliable. 

The  Hebrew  preposition  le  used  as  in  the  tities  of  the  psalms 
with  the  name  of  an  individual,  does  not  per  se  indicate  authorship. 
It  is  capable  of  a  much  wider  interpretation,  such  as  ‘  belonging  to,’ 
or  ‘conceming,’  so  that  leDawid  could  in  itself,  as  far  as  grammar 
goes,  mean  *  belonging  to  David  '  or  ‘  conceming  David  '  ;  it  could 
even  mean,  prefixed  to  a  poem,  ‘  Davidic.’  In  Ps.  71  the  Greek 
translators  actually  took  liShelomoh  not  as  ‘  by  Solomon/  but  *  con- 
cerning  Solomon.’  Why  not  then,  it  has  been  asked,  take  leDawid 
as  meaning  ‘  conceming  David  '  or  ‘  Davidic  ’  (as  in  Ps.  136),  or 
*  belonging  to  David  ’  ?  The  expression,  which  is  so  frequent  in  the 
tities,  lanfnaseah  does  not  mean  ‘  by  the  choir-leader/  but  ‘  for  the 
choir-leader,'  or  ‘  belonging  to  the  choir-leader.’  On  this  analogy 
VDawid  ought  to  mean,  if  that  meaning  is  possible,  ‘  belonging  to> 
David.'  Thus  it  is  argued  that  leDawid  and  similar  expressions  in 
the  psalms  need  not  be  taken  as  suggesting  authorship. 

On  the  other  hand,  however,  lcDawid  can  certainly  mean  ‘  by 


INTRODUCTION 


lviii 

David/  and  the  persistent  tradition  of  the  Jewish  and  Christian 
Churches  has  taken  it  in  this  sense.  We  can  reasonably  hold,  there- 
fore,  that  the  preposition  le  used  with  the  name  of  an  individual  in 
the  tities  does  actually  indicate  authorship  ;  where,  however,  the 
preposition  is  used  with  the  name  of  a  group  (like  the  filii  Core)  it 
seems  more  reasonable  to  hold  that  it  indicates  possession,  or  other 
similar  relati on,  rather  than  authorship. 

The  psalm-titles,  then,  may  be  taken  as  assigning  more  than  half 
the  Psalter  to  David  as  author.  Is  this  testimony  reliable  ?  Modern 
liberal  criticism,  for  the  most  part,  refuses  to  accept  it.  For  such 
criticism  all,  or  practically  ali,  the  psalms  are  of  post-exilic  origin, 
and  none  of  them  is  as  old  as  David.  The  ascription  of  psalms  to 
David  is,  say  the  critics,  like  the  ascription  of  books  of  Wisdom  to 
Solomon.  Just  as  Solomon  was  renowned  for  his  wisdom,  so  David 
was  celebrated  in  Hebrew  tradition  as  a  musician  and  a  poet,  and  that 
tradition  naturally  associated  him  with  the  organisation  of  liturgical 
music  and  song  and,  therefore,  with  the  Psalter.  Besides,  the  critics 
argue,  there  are  many  references  in  psalms  ascribed  to  David  by 
their  tities  to  events  of  the  post-Davidic  period,  and  if  some  tities  are 
thus  proved  to  be  false  how  can  any  be  trusted  ?  Such  references  to 
post-Davidic  affairs  are  allusions  to  Temple-worship,  and  to  events  of 
the  Exilic  or  post-exilic  period.  To  these  should  be  added  indications 
of  a  religious  outlook  which  would  have  been  impossible  in  the  Davidic 
age,  and  ciear  allusions  to  a  reigning  Israelite  king  in  the  third  person, 
or  words  addressed  to  him  directly.  Sometimes  the  language  of 
psalms  ascribed  to  David  is  so  Aramaising  in  tendency  that  it  could 
not  be  associated  with  David  as  its  author.  The  critics  argue  stili 
further  against  the  tities  on  the  ground  that  no  two  of  the  ancient 
Psalters  (Hebrew,  Septuagint,  Latin,  Syriae)  agree  as  to  the  text  of 
the  tities.  Is  it  not,  therefore,  they  say,  more  scientific  to  disregard 
the  tities  completely,  and  to  determine  the  authorship  of  the  psalms 
solely  by  a  study  of  their  contents  ?  In  this  study  of  contents  the 
critics  have  come  to  reject  the  possibility  not  merely  of  Davidic, 
but  even  of  pre-exilic  psalms.  They  find  in  the  Psalter  essentially 
the  thought  and  outlook  and  the  historical  background  of  post-exilic 
Judaism,  and  some  of  the  critics  are  doubtful  whether  any  of  the  psalms 
can  be  older  than  the  Maccabean  age. 

The  Psalter  is,  as  has  been  said  already,  essentially  a  liturgical 
book,  and  it  may  be  correct  to  call  it  with  most  modern  critics  ‘  the 
Hymnal  of  the  second  Temple/  But  it  does  not  thence  immediately 
follow  that  the  poems  of  the  Psalter  are  not  older  than  the  second, 
or  post-exilic  Temple.  Poems  written  in  the  early  monarchical 
period — even  as  early  as  David’s  day,  could  well  have  been  incorporated 
in  a  post-exilic  hymnal.  It  is  certain  that  there  was  a  highly  organised 
cult  in  the  Solomonic  Temple.  In  the  liturgy  of  that  cult  sacred  song 
and  music  must  have  played  a  great  part — just  as  music  and  song  are 


INTRODUCTION 


lix 


known  to  have  played  a  great  part  in  the  liturgy  of  Oriental  cults 
much  older  than  that  of  the  Temple  of  Solomon.  1  It  is  not  un- 
reasonable  then  to  assume  that  much  of  the  liturgical  poetry  of  the 
pre-exilic  Temple  survived  the  Exile  and  was  used  again  in  the  second 
Temple.  Many  of  the  psalms  are  scarcely  intelligible  unless  they  are 
thought  of  as  the  product  of  the  monarchical  period.  Such  are,  for 
instance,  the  so-called  ‘  Royal  Psalms  *  (17,  19,  20,  27,  32,  44,  60,  62, 
71,  109,  etc.,  etc.).  These  psalms,  whether  they  refer  directly  to  the 
reigning  king  of  Israel  or  to  the  Messianic  King,  pre-suppose  the 
existence  of  a  monarchy  in  Israel  at  the  time  at  which  they  were 
composed.  Since  it  is  thus  certain  that  a  great  number  of  psalms  are 
pre-exilic,  the  possibility  at  once  arises  that  many  of  them  are  of 
Davi  dic  origin.  There  must  be  a  strong  historical  basis  for  the  ancient 
tradi tion  which  made  David  a  prolific  religious  poet.  Without  such 
a  historical  basis  there  would  not  have  arisen  the  idea  of  a  collecti on 
of  Davidic  poems.  There  is  abundant  evidence  in  the  Old  Testament 
outside  the  Psalter  to  show  that  David  was  remarkable  for  his  skill 
in  music,  and  for  his  capacity  as  a  poet.  It  was  as  a  skilled  musician 
that  he  was  taken  into  the  house  of  Saul  (I  Kings  16, 18).  The  historical 
books  have  preserved  for  us  the  dirges  which  he  composed  over 
Saul  and  Jonathan  (II  Kings  i,17-27)  and  Abner  (II  Kings  3,3a/)  ; 
in  II  Kings  22  is  ascribed  to  David  the  same  poem  which  appears 
again  as  the  I7th  Psalm  ;  in  II  Kings  23, 1-7  we  have  the  swan-song 
of  David  and  he  is  called  there  ‘  the  chanter  of  IsraePs  songs.’  2 * * *  Amos 
6, 5  speaks  of  those  who  seek  to  vie  with  David  in  devising  ‘  instruments 
to  accompany  song.’  Practically  everywhere  in  the  Old  Testament 
outside  the  Psalter  where  sacred  songs  and  the  music  of  the  sacred 
liturgy  are  spoken  of,  David  is  associated  with  them  as  author  or 
organiser  (c/.  I  Par.  16,7 8»36 ;  II  Par.  7,® ;  29, 30 ;  Eccli.  47,9’12 ; 
II  Mac.  2,13). 

That  the  character  and  history  of  David  were  such  as  to  fit  him 
for  the  composition  of  many  of  the  psalms  cannot  be  doubted.  He 
is  depicted  in  reliable  Hebrew  tradition  as  a  deeply  pious  man — though 
at  times  passionate  and  wayward  ;  his  career  is  described  in  the 
Books  of  Kings  as  full  of  most  thrilling  incident  and  of  every  kind  of 
vicissitude  ;  his  success  as  a  leader,  diplomat  and  king,  shows  that 
he  was  exceptionally  gifted  in  mind,  and  possessed  of  ali  that  capacity 


1  The  ‘  Songs  of  Sion  ’  in  Ps.  136,  which  could  not  be  sung  during  the  Exile 

on  the  soil  of  the  stranger,  must  have  been  sung  in  Jerusalem  before  the  Exile. 

For  the  use  of  music  and  song  in  Israelite  worship  of  the  eighth  century  b.c. 

compare  Amos  5,23.  Compare  also  the  account  of  the  bringing  of  the  Ark  to 

Sion  in  the  reign  of  David,  II  Kings  6,6.  It  may  be  said,  indeed,  that  the  re¬ 

ligious  song  or  Psalm  must  have  been  familiar  in  Israel  from  the  beginnings  of 

its  natio  nal  life. 

8  The  Hebrew  epithet  may,  however,  mean  ‘  darling  of  Israel’s  songs,’  i. e. 

favourite  theme  of  them. 


Ix 


INTRODUCTION 


of  receiving  a  multiplicity  of  impressions,  and  of  analysing  moods 
and  attitudes  in  himself  and  others  which  wouJd  fit  him  to  excel  as  a 
lyric  poet. 

The  tities  of  the  psalms  command  respect  by  their  great  antiquity. 
The  Septuagint  translators  did  not  fully  understand  them,  so  that 
even  as  early  as  about  200  b.c.  they  must  have  been  so  old  that  tra- 
dition  as  to  their  meaning  had  already  grown  confused.  Hence  it 
is  possible  that  some  tities  may  be  practically  as  old  as  the  psalms 
which  they  accompany.  If  the  tities  were  late  inventions  they  would 
be  more  intelligible.  Again,  if  there  is  not  some  venerable  tradition 
underlying  the  tities  which  determine  authorship,  why  are  so  many 
psalms  left  without  any  note  of  origin  ?  It  would  have  been  as  easy 
to  ascribe  authors  to  ali  as  to  some. 

It  is  to  be  noted  further,  that  even  though  the  Psalter  is  primarily 
a  Hymnal,  many  of  its  poems  may  have  been  composed  without  any 
immediate  reference  to  sacred  liturgy.  When  such  personal  lyrics 
came  to  be  incorporated  in  a  Hymnal  they  would  be  likely  to  undergo 
some  modification.  Possibly  many  of  the  alleged  post-Davidic 
features  in  psalms  ascribed  by  their  tities  to  David,  may  thus  be  due 
to  the  work  of  late  liturgical  editors.1 

In  view,  then,  of  the  certain  presence  of  many  pre-exilic  poems 
in  the  Psalter,  and  of  the  persistent  Hebrew  tradition  which  associates 
David  with  sacred  music  and  song,  and  taking  into  account  the 
possibility  that  liturgical  additions  to  the  text  of  the  psalms  were 
made  in  certain  cases  in  the  post-exilic  period,  we  are  scienti fically 
justified  in  accepting  generally  the  accuracy  of  the  tities  which  ascribe 
authorship  of  psalms  to  David.  The  attribution  to  David  of  a  number 
of  individual  psalms  in  the  New  Testament 2  is  a  ciear  indication  that 
Our  Lord  and  the  Apostles  regarded  the  psalm-titles,  in  so  far  as  they 
suggested  authorship,  with  respect.  There  is  no  need  to  speak  of 
*  accommodation  ’  in  reference  to  the  attitude  of  Our  Lord  and  the 
Apostolic  Church  in  this  matter. 

In  the  Commentary  below,  each  psalm  is  provided  with  an 
introduction  which  discusses  generally  its  origin  and  its  date. 


(b)  Historical  occasion 

A  note  giving  the  occasion  out  of  which  the  psalm  arose  forms  at 
times  part  of  a  psalm-title.  The  majority  of  such  notes  are  derived 
from  the  text  of  I  and  II  Kings.  They  are  discussed  in  the  Com¬ 
mentary  whenever  they  occur. 


1  C/.  the  Commentary  below  on  the  concluding  verses  of  Ps.  50. 

*Cf.  Acts  4,25i26;  I3,83-36  ;  Matt.  22,43'46;  Roms.  11,  etc. 


INTRODUCTION 


lxi 


(c)  Class  of  poem  to  which  psalm  belongs 

The  various  names  given  to  the  psalms  in  the  tities  have  been 
already  enumerated.  See  Section  I  above. 

(d)  Musical  and  other  technical  terms 

Here  must  be  noted  the  phrase  lamenaseafi  which  the  Vulgate  has 
rendered  in  finem  (See  Commentary,  Ps.  4,1).  The  expressi on  is 
uncertain  in  meaning,  but  most  modem  writers  on  the  psalms  explain 
it  as  ‘  For  the  choir-master/  C/.  I  Par.  15, 21 . 

The  tities  sometimes  contain  what  seem  to  be  the  names  of  the 
instruments  to  be  used  in  accompanying  the  chanting  of  the  psalms 
to  which  those  tities  are  prefixed.  Sometimes,  again,  we  find  in  the 
tities  elements  which  look  like  the  names  of  the  melodies  to  which 
the  psalms  were  to  be  chanted.  In  the  Vulgate  tities  occur  such 
directions  as  in  carminibus,  in  hymnis,  in  laudibus,  pro  octava,  pro 
arcanis,  pro  susceptione  matutina,  pro  occultis  filii,  etc.,  etc.  These 
are  discussed  in  their  respective  places  in  the  Commentary.  It  is 
possible  that  many,  if  not  most,  of  them  are  really  names  of  guilds 
of  singers  to  which  particular  psalms  were  assigned  in  the  liturgy  of 
the  post-exilic  Temple. 

Besides  these  musical  notes  which  occur  in  the  tities,  there  is  an 
obscure  one  which  is  often  foundat  different  places  in  the  text  of  certain 
psalms.  It  is  the  word  Selah.  Its  meaning  is  quite  uncertain  ;  but 
as  it  occurs  nearly  always  at  the  close  of  clearly  marked  sections,  it 
is  considered  by  many  recent  writers  as  marking  the  end  of  strophes. 
It  is  omitted  in  the  Vulgate  Psalter. 

(e)  Liturgical  directions 

1.  Indications  of  the  speci al  occasions  on  which  the  psalm  is  to 
be  used,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  title  of  Ps.  29,  In  dedicatione  domus 
(Dedication  of  Temple)  ;  Ps.  28,  In  consummatione  Tabernaculi  (at 
the  close  of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles)  ;  Ps.  99,  In  confessione  (for  a 
thanksgiving  offering),  etc.,  etc. 

2.  The  word  Alleluia  at  the  beginning  of  a  psalm  indicates  probably 
that  the  psalm  is  to  be  recited  after  the  manner  of  Ps.  135 — the 
people  intervening  with  a  cry  of  praise  at  the  end  of  each  verse  or  half 
verse.  C/.  Ps.  104-106  ;  110-113,  etc.,  etc. 

VIII. — ClASSIFICATION  OF  THE  PSALMS 

The  psalms  may  be  conveniently  classified  either  according  to 
their  literary  character,  or  according  to  their  subject-matter. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  literary  character  the  psalms  may 
be  arranged  in  groups  corresponding  to  four  well  defined  types  of 


lxii 


INTRODUCTION 


religious  poetry :  (a)  Hymns;  ( b )  Prayers  of  thanksgiving  and  petition  ; 
(c)  Religious  lyrics  in  the  striet  sense ;  (d)  Didactic  (or  Sapiential) 
poems. 

{a)  The  primary  purpose  of  the  hymn  is  to  sing  praise  to  God. 
It  is  the  most  familiar  form  of  ancient  Oriental  religious  song.  The 
song  or  hymn  of  God’s  praise  might  be  intended  for  public  use  in  the 
liturgy  or  for  the  private  devotion  of  the  individual.  To  the  class  of 
hymns  belong  processional  songs  (such  as  Ps.  23,  47,  86),  songs  of 
victory  and  of  festival  (such  as  Ps.  113,  80,  149,  67),  and  liturgical 
hymns  (like  Ps.  133,  148,  112,  46,  96,  74,  etc.).  To  the  class  of  hymns 
belong  also  the  psalms  which  celebrate  the  glory  of  God  in  nature 
(18,  8,  28,  103),  and  to  it  may  be  assigned  also  such  highly  individual 
poems  as  Ps.  132  and  Ps.  138. 

(b)  The  prayer-psalms  are  very  numerous.  Many  are  prayers  of 
thanksgiving  for  help  and  favour  received  from  God — for  the  blessings 
of  rich  harvests,  for  victory  in  war,  for  the  coronation  of  the  king,  etc. 
Of  these  thanksgiving  songs  some  are  for  choral  or  liturgical  use,  such 
as  Ps.  66,  64,  123,  etc.,  others  are  songs  of  thanksgiving  for  the  use 
of  individuals  (29,  65,  26,  etc.). 

The  prayer-psalms  of  petition  are  more  numerous  than  those  of 
thanksgiving  ;  many  of  these  are  communal  or  national  (19,  122, 
125,  84,  105,  101,  79,  88,  82,  43,  etc.)  ;  others  are  complaints  of  the 
loyal  worshippers  of  the  Lord  living  among  scoffing  and  hostile  neigh- 
bours  (Ps.  11,  63,  119,  etc.).  Most,  indeed,  of  the  psalms  of  petition 
might  just  as  well  be  styled  psalms  of  complaint,  since  they  are,  for 
the  most  part,  petitions  for  rescue  from  pain  or  oppression.  Hence, 
to  this  group  belong  the  *  psalms  of  the  sick  ’  (such  as  87  and  37) . 
Failure  of  harvests,  famine,  defeat  in  war  and  similar  calami ties 
brought  the  people  in  tearful  prayer  to  the  Sanctuary  (c/.  Ps.  43, 
73>  78,  84,  122,  125).  Individuals  who  were  sick  or  grieved  or  op- 
pressed  were  wont  to  turn  to  the  Lord,  promising  Him  a  thanks¬ 
giving  Service  of  praising  song,  or  of  sacrifice  and  song,  in  the  Temple, 
should  He  deign  to  hear  and  rescue  them.  For  such  thanksgiving 
Services  not  a  few  of  the  psalms  were  composed.  To  the  class  of 
prayer-psalms  should  probably  be  added  those  psalms  which  asseverate 
the  guiltlessness  of  the  psalmist  (25,  16,  etc.),  and  also  those  which 
emphasise  the  absolute  trust  of  the  psalmist  in  God  (93,  91,  35,  22,  6, 
124,  61).  Some  of  the  psalms  of  the  prayer-group  are  the  most 
intimately  personal  in  the  Psalter  (such  as  60,  62,  41-42,  76,  50,  etc.). 

(c)  The  peculiarity  of  the  religious  lyric  in  the  striet  sense  is  that 
it  is  an  outpouring  of  the  psalmist ’s  soul  to  God  without  immediate 
reference  to  liturgy  or  ceremonial  of  any  kind.  It  is,  as  a  rule,  either 
an  expressi on  of  direct  adoration  of  God,  or  an  outburst  of  joy  because 


INTRODUCTION 


bdii 

of  the  consciousness  of  God’s  presence,  or  a  reverential  reflection  on 
His  omnipotence  and  wisdom,  or  a  retrospect  of  Israehs  divinely 
guarded  past,  or  a  glad  forecast  of  Israel’s  glory  in  the  Messianic  age. 
To  this  class  we  may  assign  psalms  which  celebrate  the  blessedness 
of  the  God-fearing  (90,  51,  127,  etc.),  and  such  pilgrim-psalms  as 
83  and  121.  To  this  group  belong  the  royal  and  Messianic  poems, 
Ps.  2,  71, 109,  and  to  it  may  perhaps  also  be  assigned  the  psalms  which 
bewail  the  power  and  influence  of  evil  (such  as  13,  81,  57). 

(d)  The  didactic  psalms  might  be  regarded  as  a  sub-di vision  of  (c), 
but  they  form  so  well  defined  a  class  that  it  is  perhaps  more  suitable 
to  set  them  up  as  a  separate  group.  Their  usual  theme  is  the  praise 
of  piety  and  of  the  Law  (Ps.  1,  124,  127,  132).  Many  of  the  didactic 
psalms  are  alphabetically  arranged  as  if  they  were  intended  to  be 
leamed  by  heart  (24,  36,  110,  m,  118).  Several  of  the  psalms  of 
this  group  are  statements  of  the  lessons  to  be  learned  from  the  history 
of  Israel  (95,  104,  105,  77),  and  several  deal  with  the  methods  of 
Divine  Providence  (in  particular  the  so-called  ‘  Theodicy  psalms/ 
36, 48, 72, 81, 93). 

A  classi fication  of  the  psalms  on  the  basis  of  their  content  must 
of  necessity  be  unsatisfactory,  for,  on  the  one  hand,  psalms  dealing 
with  similar  subject-matter  often  differ  so  greatly  from  each  other 
that  they  cannot  be  conveniently  grouped  together,  and,  on  the 
other,  psalms  dealing  with  different  themes  often  resemble  each 
other  closely.  Besides,  there  is  such  variety  of  theme  in  the  Psalter 
that  it  is  practically  impossible  to  enumerate  all  the  different  groups 
into  which  the  psalms  might  be  arranged.  It  will  be  understood, 
therefore,  that  in  the  following  arrangement  of  the  psalms  according 
to  subject-matter  no  attempt  is  made  at  completeness.  Only  the 
more  striking  and  obvious  groups  of  psalms  are  enumerated. 

(a)  Historica l  Psalms. — To  this  class  belong  such  psalms  as  can 
be  connected  more  or  less  probably  with  definite  events  in  the  history 
of  Israel.  Such,  for  instance,  are  Ps.  45,  47,  73,  75.  With  these 
might  be  grouped  those  psalms  which  look  back  on  the  career  of 
Israel  to  derive  from  it  a  warning  or  an  inspirati  on  (105, 104,  134,  etc.). 

(b)  Nature  Psalms. — In  these  are  hymned  that  power  and  majesty 
of  God  which  the  physical  world  reveals  (8,  18,  28,  103). 

(c)  Psalms  of  divine  love. — As  the  nature-psalms  celebrate  the 
glory,  wisdom,  and  power  of  God  which  are  shown  forth  in  the  cosmos, 
so  there  are  other  psalms  which  celebrate  the  love  and  kindness  dis- 
played  by  God  towards  men  (102,  32,  110,  112,  etc.). 

(d)  Patriotic  Psalms. — Israel  was  God’s  own  people,  and  Yahweh 
was  Israel’s  king.  Hence  the  religion  and  the  national  life  of  Israel 
were  most  intimately  associated.  In  the  Psalms  we  find,  therefore, 
intense  nationalism  and  deep  religious  feeling  closely  combined.  The 
victories  of  Israel  are  celebrated  as  victori  es  of  Yahweh,  and  when 


Ixiv 


INTRODUCTION 


Israel  has  suffered  defeat  it  is  to  the  psalmist  as  if  the  fame  of  IsraeFs 
God  and  King,  Yahweh,  were,  in  a  sense,  threatened  with  eclipse. 
Jerusalem  is  great  and  glori ous  because  Yahweh  has  His  Dwelling  in 
its  midst.  For  the  psalmist ’s  patriotic  pride  in  general,  note  Ps.  77, 
88,  136,  etc.,  etc.,  and  for  his  pride  in  Jerusalem  see  Ps.  121,  124, 
45»  47»  etc. 

(e)  Problem  Psalms. — These  deal  with  the  question  which  is  put 
in  Jeremias  12, 1  : 

Wherefore  doth  the  way  of  the  wicked  prosper  ? 

Wherefore  are  all  they  at  ease  who  deal  treacherously  ? 

Such  psalms  are  36,  38,  48,  72.  With  the  theological  aspect  of  these 
psalms  and  with  the  psalmisfs  attitude  to  the  problem  of  immortality, 
which  is  connected  with  the  problems  of  Divine  Providence  (Ps.  72, 
16,  etc.),  the  Commentary  briefly  deals. 

(f)  Pilgrim  Songs. — The  largest  group  of  these  songs  is  that  of 
the  so-called  ‘  Gradual  Psalms/  1 

(g)  Imprecatory  Psalms. — There  are  several  psalms  which  invoke 
vengeance  and  destruction  on  the  en  emi  es  of  the  psalmist.  Such 
are  34,  51,  53,  54,  57,  58,  68,  78,  82,  93,  108,  136,  139.  The  apparent 
malevolence  of  the  psalmist  in  these  poems  seems,  at  first  sight,  to 
be  irreconcilable  with  the  Divine  origin  of  the  Psalter.  It  must  be 
noted,  however,  that  in  many  of  the  imprecatory  psalms  the  psalmist 
speaks  in  the  name  of  the  Israelite  people,  and  his  enemies  are,  there- 
fore,  the  enemies  of  God  and  of  God’s  kingdom  on  earth.  We  our- 
selves  do  not  think  it  strange  to  pray  for  the  overthrow  and  destruc¬ 
tion  of  the  foes  of  God  and  of  His  Church.  Again,  it  might  be  said 
that  the  curses  of  the  psalmist  are  often  to  be  taken  as  prophecies 
whose  fulfilment  depends  on  the  refusal  of  his  enemies  to  repent. 
It  might  be  maintained  further  that  in  many  cases  it  is  rather  the 
destruction  of  sin  and  injustice  than  the  discomfiture  of  his  foes  that 
the  psalmist  seeks.  If  we  knew  precisely  the  historical  background 
of  the  imprecatory  psalms  they  would  doubtless  seem  far  less  vin- 
dictive  than  they  do.  There  are  imprecations  in  the  prophets  as 
bitter  as  any  which  are  in  the  Psalms,  but  in  the  familiar  context 
of  the  prophets  they  cause  us  little  surprise.2  In  estimating  the 
imprecatory  psalms  we  must  keep  in  view  the  psalmists’  burning 
zeal  for  right  and  justice,  and  their  enthusiasm  for  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  His  Messias.  We  must  also  bear  in  mind  the  imperfect 
character  of  the  Old  Dispensation  as  compared  with  the  New,  and 
try  to  realise  that  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  expect  in  Old  Testa- 


1  It  is  not  certain  that  the  Gradual  Psalms  are  all  in  reality  pilgrim  songs. 
The  origin  and  use  are  discussed  in  the  Commentary. 

2  See  Is.  17,  18,  19,  21,  63  ;  Jer.  25,  43,  46-51,  etc.,  etc. 


INTRODUCTION 


lxv 


ment  poetry  the  sublime  ethical  perfection  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount. 

(h)  Messianic  Psalms. — A  number  of  the  psalms  are  directly 
Messianic — taking  for  their  theme  one  or  more  aspects  of  the  Ideal 
or  Messianic  King  of  Israel — such  as  His  eternal  rule,  His  priesthood, 
His  office  as  Judge,  His  sufferings,  His  resurrecti  on,  His  glori  ficati  on. 
Other  psalms  are  indirectly  Messianic,  dealing  directly  and  im- 
mediately  with  David  or  some  other  actual  Israelite  king  or  leader, 
and  only  indirectly  with  the  Messias.  The  directly  Messianic  psalms 
are  2,  15,  21,  44,  71,  109.  Of  these,  Ps.  2,  71  and  109  are  concerned 
exclusively  with  the  Messianic  King  and  His  universal  rule.  Ps.  15, 
21  and  44  are  dominated  by  the  figure  of  the  Messias  and  are  properly 
regarded  as  directly  Messianic,  but,  as  explained  in  the  Commentary, 
their  Messianic  quality  differs  somewhat  from  that  of  Ps.  2,  71  and  109. 1 * * * * 

The  indirectly  Messianic  psalms  are  numerous.  As  the  history 
of  Israel  can  be  looked  upon,  in  a  fashion,  as  the  history  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  on  earth,  so  each  crisis  of  that  history  and  the  career  of  each 
outstanding  hero  and  leader  of  the  Israelite  nation  can  be  regarded 
as  somehow  foreshadowing  and  as  helping  to  realise  the  full  establish- 
ment  of  God’s  kingdom  in  the  Messianic  era.  And  just  as  Israel  and 
its  leaders  were  thus  necessarily  typical  of  the  Messianic  King,  so  the 
Messias  was  expected  to  resume  in  Himself,  as  it  were,  all  that  was 
greatest  and  best  and  most  striking  in  the  history  of  the  people. 
The  Messianic  kingdom  was  pictured  by  popular  imaginati  on  as  a 
restoration  of  the  empire  of  David.  The  Messias  Himself  was  to  be 
of  the  Davidic  stock,  and  it  was  expected  that  His  career  would  some¬ 
how  reflect  the  history  of  the  dynasty  of  David.  From  these 
peculiar  relations  of  the  Messias  with  ancient  Israel  and  its  leaders 


1  Even  though  it  were  maintained  that  Ps.  1 5  and  44  were  primarily  suggested 

by  some  event  in  the  career  of  an  Israelite  king  or  other  prominent  individual 
in  Israel,  it  would  stili  have  to  be  admitted  that  the  terms  of  these  psalms  point 
beyond  all  human  royalty  and  greatness  to  the  glory  and  privileges  of  the 

Messianic  King.  It  has  been  frequently  suggested  that  in  Ps.  44, 6  we  should 
read  ‘  Thy  throne  shall  be  for  ever  '  instead  of  ‘  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for  ever  ’ 

(’ Elohim  being  regarded  as  due  to  an  Elohistic  redactor  who  mistakenly  read  the 
Hebrew  verb  yihyeh  ('  shall  be  ’)  as  if  it  were  Yahweh).  Yet  even  if  ‘  God  ’ 
had  to  be  thus  omitted  from  verse  6,  Ps.  44  would  stili  have  to  be  explained 
Messianically  in  view  of  the  wondrous  beauty  and  power  of  the  king  whom  it 
depicts.  Ps.  21  is  one  of  the  most  important  Messianic  texts  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment.  Apart  from  the  Isaian  texts  which  deal  with  the  ‘  Servant  of  Yahweh  ’ 

(Is.  53)  this  psalm  is  the  only  ciear  forecast  which  the  Old  Testament  gives  of  a 
suffering  Messias.  The  vivid  reference  to  what  is  obviously  a  crucifixio n-scene 
in  21, 7  can  scarcely  be  otherwise  explained  than  as  a  most  striking  prophecy 
of  the  crucifixion  of  Our  Lord.  For  the  question  of  Messianic  psalms  see 

Vigouroux-Brassac,  Manuel  Biblique,  2nd  Vol.  2nd  part  [1920]  pp.  65-100. 
A  somewhat  less  traditional  but  suggestive  treatment  of  the  Messianic  psalms 
is  Lagrange's  study,  Notes  sur  le  Messianisme  des  Psaumes,  Revue  Biblique,  1905. 
Compare  also  an  interesting  study  by  Hennen  on  Ps.  44  in  the  Biblische  Zeitschrift, 

1919,  pp.  116-121. 


Ixvi 


INTRODUCTION 


there  arises  the  possibility  of  regarding  most  of  the  psalms  which 
deal  with  Israel  or  the  kings  and  leaders  of  Israel  as  indirectly 
Messianic.  It  would  seem  both  from  the  Psalter  and  from  the  Old 
Testament  generally  that  there  existed  ready  to  hand  for  poets  of 
ancient  Israel  a  mass  of  terminology  and  imagery  dealing  with  the 
Messianic  King  and  His  rule.  On  this  store  the  psalmists  often 
apparently  drew  when  they  sang  of  the  fortunes  of  Israelite  heroes 
or  of  tbe  Israelite  nation.  The  psalms  which  treat  of  Israe]  or  Israelites 
as  typical  of  the  Messias,  and  those  which  employ  what  may  be  called 
the  technical  imaginative  apparatus  of  the  Messianic  hope  are  indicated 
in  the  Commentary. 

(i)  Penitential  Psalms. — These  are  6;  31,  37,  50,  101,  129,  142. 

It  would  be  possible  to  enumerate  other  groups  of  psalms  held 
together  by  similarity  of  subject-matter,  but  the  groups  already 
indicated  are  sufficiently  numerous  to  suggest  that  the  Psalter,  instead 
of  being  monotonous,  as  is  sometimes  supposed,  is  rich  in  the  abundant 
variety  of  its  themes. 


IX. — Important  Dates  in  Hebrew  History 

The  following  table  of  dates  will  help  to  make  intelligible  the 
references  to  events  of  Hebrew  history  which  occur  throughout  this 
work : — 


Monarchical  Period 

Establishment  of  the  Monarchy  .... 

about 

r>. 

1025 

Reign  of  David  .  . 

y  9 

1010-970 

Reign  of  Solomon  ...... 

99 

970-932 

Division  of  Israel  from  Juda  .... 

9  9 

932 

Syro-Ephraimite  Invasion  of  Juda 

99 

734 

Fall  of  Samaria  and  end  of  the  Kingdom  of  Israel 

99 

722 

Sanherib’s  Invasion  of  Juda .  . 

9  9 

701 

Religious  Reform  begun  by  Josias 

621 

Exilic  Period 

Destruction  of  Jerusalem  and  formal  beginning  of 

Babylo nian  Exile  ..... 

586 

Persian  Conquest  of  Babylon  and  close  of  the  Exile 

538 

Post-Exilic  Period 

Dedication  of  the  Second  Temple  at  Jerusalem 
Work  of  re-organisation  of  Jerusalem  carried  out  by 
Esdras  and  Nehemias  . 

Submission  of  Jews  to  Alexander  the  Great  . 


516 

458-432 

332 


INTRODUCTION 


Maccabean  Period 

Persecution  of  the  Jews  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes 
Maccabean  Revolt  against  Antiochus 
Jerusalem  re-captured  by  the  Maccabees  and 
Worship  in  the  Temple  Resto red 
Palestine  becomes  a  Roman  Province  . 


B.C. 

168 

167 

165 

65 


Students  of  the  Psalter  should  know  something  of  the  history  of 
Hebrew  prophecy.  They  should  note  that  to  the  middle  of  the 
eighth  century  b.c.  belongs  the  preaching  of  Amos  and  Osee,  and 
that  the  main  prophetical  activity  of  Isaias  and  Michaeas  belongs  to 
the  last  quarter  of  the  same  century.  They  should  also  know  that 
Jeremias  came  forward  publicly  as  a  prophet  in  the  last  quarter  of 
the  seventh  century  b.c.,  and  that  his  work  continued  during  the 
fateful  years  which  preceded  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  was  carried 
on  even  after  the  Exile  had  begun.  To  the  closing  years  of  the  seventh 
century  belong  also  Habacuc,  Nahum,  and  Sophonias.  Ezechiel  belongs 
altogether  to  the  Exilic  period,  and  Zachary  and  Aggaeus  were  active 
shortly  after  the  Exiles  began  to  return — encouraging  the  people  to 
set  up  again  in  Jerusalem  the  Temple  liturgy  which  the  Babyloni ans 
had  so  rudely  interrupted  in  586  b.c. 


X. — Transliteration  of  Hebrew 

Since  ali  Hebrew  words  and  phrases  quoted  in  this  work  are 
given  in  transliterated  form,  it  is  necessary  to  indicate  here  briefly 
the  general  method  of  transliteration  which  has  been  adopted.  The 
following  table  will  show  the  system  used  in  transliterating  the  Hebrew 
consonants. 


'Aleph  . 

9 

Lamed  . 

.  1 

Beth  without  dagesh 

.  bh 

Mem 

.  m 

Beth  with  dagesh 

.  b 

Nun 

.  n 

Gimel 

•  g 

Samekh 

.  s 

Daleth  . 

.  d 

'Ayin 

i 

He. 

.  h 

Pe  without  dag. 

.  ph 

Vau 

.  w 

Pe  with  dag.  . 

•  P 

Zayin 

.  z 

Sade 

• 

.  s 

• 

Heth 

h 

Kcph 

•  h 

Teth 

.  t 

Resh 

.  r 

Yod 

•  y 

Sin 

.  5 

Kaph  without  dag.  . 

.  kh 

Shin 

.  sh 

Kaph  with  dag. 

.  k 

Tau  without  dag. 

.  th 

Tau  with  dag. 

.  / 

No  attempt  has  been  made  to  distinguish  the  long  and  short  full 
vowels. 


lxviii 


INTRODUCTION 


The  simple  murmur- vowel  ( shewa )  is  represented  by  5  written 
above  the  line,  and  the  composite  shewas  are  represented  by  *  e  ° 
written  above  the  line. 

Biblical  proper  names  are  written,  as  a  rule,  according  to  the 
tradition  of  the  Graeco-Latin  Bible. 


XI . — Bibliography 

An  attempt  to  give  a  complete  bibliography  of  literature  dealing 
with  the  Psalter  as  a  whole  or  with  any  aspect  of  the  Psalter  would 
be  out  of  place  in  a  simple  study  of  the  Vulgate  Psalter.  The  aim  of 
the  list  which  follows  is  merely  to  indicate  the  chief  Commentaries 
on  the  Psalter  which  have  been  constantly  consulted  in  preparing  this 
work.  Those  students  who  may  wish  for  fuller  bibliographical 
details,  especially  on  the  Patristic  and  Mediaeval  Psalm-literature, 
will  consuit  with  advantage  Hoberg’s  Psalmen  der  Vulgata  (2nd.  ed. 
Freiburg,  1906)  and  Ecker’s  Porta  Sion  (Trier,  1903). 


Early  Period 

Origen,  Exegetic  fragments  published  in  Migne,  Vol.  12  ;  Jerome 
Commentarioli  in  Psalmos,  edited  by  Morin  (in  Anecdota  Maredsolana), 
1895.  There  are  many  notes  on  the  exegesis  of  the  Psalter  in  Jerome’s 
letters  to  Damasus,  Marcella,  Paula,  Principia,  Sunnia  and  Fretela, 
and  the  Presbyter  Cyprian — all  published  in  Migne,  Vol.  22. 

Theodoret,  “  Interpretation  of  Psalms  ”  (Migne,  80). 


Middle  Ages 

St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  In  Psalmos  D avidis  expositio  (Ps.  1-51). 


Modern  Period 

Agellius,  Commentarii  in  psalmos  et  in  divini  officii  cantica,  Rome, 
1606  ;  Simeon  de  Muis,  Commentarius  liter  alis  et  historicus  in  omnes 
psalmos  Davidis,  Paris,  1630  ;  Le  Blanc,  Psalmorum  Davidicorum 
analysis  et  commentarius,  Cologne,  1680  ;  Bellarmine,  Explanatio  in 
Psalmos  (Rome,  1611)  ;  Calmet,  Commentarius,  Vol.  6,  Wiirzburg, 
1791  ;  Schegg,  Die  Psalmen  (3  vols.  Munich,  1857)  ;  Reinke,  Messian- 
ische  Psalmen  (Giessen,  1857)  ;  Beelen,  Het  Boek  der  Psalmen  (Louvain, 
1878)  ;  Lesetre,  Le  livre  des  Psaumes  (Paris,  1883)  ;  Langer,  Das 
Buch  der  Psalmen  (3rd  ed.  Freiburg,  1889)  ;  Mlcoch,  Psalterium 


INTRODUCTION 


lxix 


(Olmiitz,  1890)  ;  Raffl,  Die  Psalmen  (101-150,  Freiburg,  1892)  ; 
Cornely,  Psalmorum  Synopses  (Paris,  1899)  ;  Sedlacek,  Vyklad  posvat- 
nych  Zalmu  (Prague,  1900-1901)  ;  Wolter,  Psallite  Sapienter  (Frei¬ 
burg,  1904)  ;  d'Eyragues,  Les  Psaumes  traduits  de  VHebreu  (3rd  ed. 
Paris,  1905)  ;  Hoberg,  Die  Psalmen  der  Vulgata  (2nd  ed.  Freiburg, 
1906)  ;  Ceulemans,  Introductio  et  Commentarius  in  Psalmos  (Mechlin, 

1906)  ;  Schloegl,  Die  Psalmen  (Vienna,  1911)  ;  Knabenbauer,  Com¬ 
mentarii  in  psalmos  (Paris,  1912)  ;  Van  der  Heeren,  Psalmi  et  cantica 
breviarii  (Bruges,  1913)  ;  Thalhofer,  Erklaerung  der  Psalmen  (8th  ed. 
Regensburg,  1914)  ;  Schloegl,  Die  Psalmen  (In  the  translation,  Die 
heiligen  Schriften  des  alten  Bundes,  Vol.  3,  Pt.  1,  Vienna,  1915)  ; 
Bonaccorsi,  Psalterium  latinum  cum  Graeco  et  Hebraeo  comparatum 
(Florence,  1914-15.  So  far  only  two  fasicules,  dealing  with  Ps.  1-25, 
have  appeared)  ;  Schulte,  Die  Psalmen  des  Breviers  (2nd  ed.  Pader- 
bom,  1917)  ;  Jetzinger,  Die  Psalmen  und  Cantica  des  Breviers  (Regens¬ 
burg,  1917)  ;  Higgins,  Commentary  on  the  Psalms  (Dublin,  1913)  ; 
M'Swiney,  Translation  of  the  Psalms  and  Canticles  (Dublin  1901)  ; 
Eaton,  Sing  ye  to  the  Lord  (London,  1909-1912)  ;  Barry,  Commentary 
on  the  Psalms  (1-50,  New  York)  ;  Fillion,  The  New  Psalter  (Trans, 
from  the  French,  St.  Louis). 

The  following  Commentaries  by  non-Catholic  autfiors  have  been 
frequently  consulted  :  Delitzsch,  Die  Psalmen  (4th  ed.  1883)  ;  Hup- 
feld-Nowack,  Die  Psalmen  (3rd  ed.  1888)  ;  Wellhausen,  The  Book 
of  Psalms  (Poly chrome  Bible,  London,  1898)  ;  King,  The  Psalms  in 
three  Collections  (Cambridge,  1898)  ;  Duhm,  Die  Psalmen  (Goettingen, 

1904)  ;  Cheyne,  The  Book  of  Psalms  (London,  1904)  ;  Baethgen,  Die 
Psalmen  (Goettingen,  1904)  ;  Cobb,  The  Book  of  Psalms  (London, 

1905)  ;  Kirkpatrick,  The  Book  of  Psalms  (Cambridge,  1902)  ;  Briggs, 
A  critical  and  exegetical  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  Psalms  (Edinburgh, 

1907)  ;  Kittel,  Die  Psalmen  (Leipzig,  1914)  ;  Gunkel,  Ausgewahlte 
Psalmen  (4th  ed.  Goettingen,  1917)  ;  Staerk,  Lyrik  (in  the  Series 
Schriften  des  alten  Testaments,  2nd  ed.  Goettingen,  1920)  ;  Driver, 
Studies  in  the  Psalms  (London,  1915). 


PSALM  I 


THE  TWO  PATHS 

IN  this  psalm,  which  serves  as  a  sort  of  introduction  to  the  Psalter, 
one  of  the  most  fundamental  thoughts  of  Hebrew  speculation 
finds  expression.  The  just  man,  it  telis  us,  prospers  in  all 
things,  while  the  wicked  man’s  life  ends  in  failure.  The 
psalm,  however,  dwells  rather  on  the  success  of  the  just  than  on 
the  failure  of  the  wicked.  It  depicts  the  ideally  just  man  first 
negati vely  (verse  i),  then  positi vely  (2-3),  and  then  in  contrast  with 
the  wicked  (4-5).  The  just  man  shows  no  tendency  to  adopt  the 
ideas  of  the  godless  who  set  no  value  on  the  Law,  or  to  associate 
himself  with  the  sinners  who  openly  oppose  the  Law,  or  to  help  in 
spreading  the  corruption  of  those  who  sneer  at  the  Law’s  require- 
ments.  His  heart  is  fixed  on  the  Law,  and  he  constantly  murmurs 
to  himself  its  precepts.  His  life  is  rich  in  works  of  the  Law,  so  that 
it  reminds  one  of  the  verdure  of  a  tree  that  blooms  and  bears  fruit 
beside  the  running  waters  of  irrigation  channels.  As  one  might 
well  expect,  there  is  a  blessing  on  all  his  toil,  and  his  every  enterprise 
succeeds. 

Over  against  the  continued  prosperity  of  the  just  we  see 
the  instability  of  the  godless.  They  are  like  the  dust  of  the  road 
in  the  storm,  or  like  the  chaff  which  the  wind  whirls  away  from  the 
winnowing  on  the  hill-top.  They  will  not  succeed  in  the  great  Tria], 
nor  hold  a  place  in  the  Assembly  of  the  just  when  the  Trial  is  over. 

The  loving  eyes  of  God  are  on  the  path  of  the  just  ;  but  the  path 
of  the  wicked  leads  to  death. 

The  psalm  bears  no  title,  and  neither  its  date  nor  its  author  can 
be  determined.  The  picture  of  the  just  man’s  success,  and  the 
sinner's  failure  is  painted  in  the  spirit  of  ancient  Hebrew  belief,  and 
may  well  belong  to  the  Davidic  age.  Yet,  it  is  not  connected  by  a 
superscription  with  the  Davidic  or  any  other  ancient  collection  of 
psalms,  and  many  modern  critics  believe  that  it  was  written  expressly 
by  a  comparatively  late  poet  (possibly  the  first  editor  of  the  Book  of 
Psalms)  to  serve  as  an  introduction  to  the  whole  collection  of  psalms, 
just  as  Psalm  cl.  seems  to  have  been  written  directly  as  a  conclusion 
to  the  “  Praises  of  Israel.”  The  extraordinary  parallelism  of  Jere- 
mias  xvii.  5-8  to  this  Psalm  is  regarded  by  many  critics  as  a  proof 
that  the  Psalm  is  subsequent  at  least  to  the  time  of  Jeremias.  It 
is  interesting  to  note  that  in  Acts  xiii.  33,  according  to  a  reading  of 
some  importance,  Psalm  ii.  is  called  the  first  Psalm. 


2 


THE  PSALMS 


1.  Beatus  vir,  qui  non  abiit  i. 
in  consilio  impiorum,  et  in  via 
peccatorum  non  stetit,  et  in 
cathedra  pestilentiae  non  sedit  : 

2.  Sed  in  lege  Domini  volun-  2. 
tas  ejus,  et  in  lege  ejus  medi¬ 
tabitur  die  ac  nocte. 

3.  Et  erit  tamquam  lignum,  3. 
quod  plantatum  est  secus  de¬ 
cursus  aquarum,  quod  fructum 
suum  dabit  in  tempore  suo  : 

Et  folium  ejus  non  defluet  : 
et  omnia  quaecumque  faciet, 
prosperabuntur. 


Fortunate  is  the  man 

Who  hath  not  walked  according  to  the 
counsel  of  the  godless  ; 

Nor  stood  in  the  path  of  sinners  ; 

Nor  sat  in  the  chair  of  corruption. 

But  hath  his  pleasure  in  the  Law  of  the 
Lord, 

And  pondereth  on  His  Law  by  day  and 
by  night. 

He  is  like  a  tree 

That  is  planted  by  running  waters  ; 
Which  giveth  its  fruit  in  due  season, 

And  whose  foliage  falleth  not. 

And  ali  that  he  doeth  succeedeth. 


4.  Non  sic  impii,  non  sic  : 
sed  tamquam  pulvis,  quem  pro¬ 
jicit  ventus  a  facie  terrae. 

5.  Ideo  non  resurgent  impii 
in  judicio  :  neque  peccatores  in 
concilio  justorum. 

6.  Quoniam  novit  Dominus 
viam  justorum  :  et  iter  impio¬ 
rum  peribit. 


4.  Not  thus  are  the  godless  !  No  ! 

But  like  the  dust  which  the  wind  sweep- 
eth  (from  off  the  earth). 

5.  Therefore  the  godless  will  not  stand  in  the 

Trial, 

Nor  sinners  in  the  Assembly  of  the  just  ; 

6.  For  the  Lord  knoweth  the  way  of  the  just. 

But  the  path  of  the  godless  cometh  to 
naught. 


1.  The  three  verbs,  walk,  stand,  sit,  are  connected  with  the  three 
things,  counsel,  path,  seat,  and  have  the  three  distinet  subjects,  the 
godless,  sinners,  and  mockers  (“  Corruption  ”  is  abstract  for  cor- 
rupters  ;  Hebrew-'  mockers  ’).  A  climax  is,  evidently,  intended.  As 
the  good  man  is  described  as  the  man  whose  pleasure  ( voluntas )  is 
in  the  Law  of  Israel  (the  Law  of  Moses),  so  the  various  classes  of  the 
wicked  are  characterised  by  different  degrees  of  indifference  or 
hostility  to  the  Law.  Some  seem  to  forget  the  Law  ;  others  act 
openly  against  it ;  others  carry  on  a  campaign  of  sneering  and  con- 
tempt  against  it.  The  Hebrew  text  of  the  third  clause  might  be 
understood  of  a  “  circle  ”  or  group  of  mockers,  rather  than  of  a 
teacher’s  chair,  around  which  the  mockers  gathered.  The  pious 
Israelite  will  separate  himself  completely  from  sinners  and  sceptics. 
This  tendency  to  aloofness  was  carried  to  extremes  by  the  Pharisees 
(“  the  separated  ones  ”). 

2.  The  just  man,  on  the  other  hand,  is  quite  taken  up  with  the 
Law  :  it  is  “  a  torch  for  his  feet.”  It  is  always  in  his  heart,  and 
always  on  his  lips  (as  is  prescribed  in  Deuteron.  vi.  6-8).  Meditari 
means,  according  to  Hebrew,  not  silent  contemplation,  but  audible 
murmuring  of  the  words  of  the  Law.  This  verse  and  the  following 
are  echoed  in,  or  are  an  echo  of,  Josue  i.  8  :  “  This  Book  of  the  Law 
shall  not  depart  out  of  thy  mouth,  and  thou  shalt  ponder  over  it 
murmuringly  day  and  night,  so  that  thou  mayest  be  constant  in 
acting  as  is  prescribed  therein  ;  for  then  thou  shalt  make  thy  way  to 
prosper,  and  then  thou  shalt  have  success." 


THE  TWO  PATHS 


3 


3*  The  decursus  uouurum  (Hebrew,  “  divisions  of  waters  ”)  are 
imgation  canals  such  as  might  be  seen  in  Babylonia  or  Egypt  rather 
than  in  Palestine.  For  the  comparison  see  Ps.  Ii.  io  ;  xci.  13. 

4.  The  Hebrew  compares  the  wicked  with  the  chaff  which  is 
whirled  from  the  threshing-floor.  The  threshing,  or  winnowing 
usually  took  place  on  a  raised  ground  in  an  exposed  position  {cf. 
Matt.  iii.  12).  The  instability  of  the  godless  is  often  similarly  sug- 
gested  elsewhere  in  Scripture.  Cf.  Osee  xiii.  3  :  “  They  shall  be  as 
the  moming-cloud,  as  dew  of  the  dawn  that  vanisheth,  like  the  chaff 
that  is  whirled  away  from  the  threshing-floor,  like  smoke  from  the 
chimney.  Again,  Isaias  xvii.  12  :  “  The  nations  .  .  .  shall  be 

chased  like  chaff  on  the  mountain  before  the  breeze.”  Cf.  also  the 
passage  in  Wisdom  v.  14  :  "  The  hope  of  the  godless  is  like  dust 
(chaff)  swept  along  by  the  wind,  and  like  thin  foam  scattered  by 
the  storm,  and  like  smoke  dispersed  by  the  breeze,  and  like  the 
remembrance  of  a  one-day  guest  ”  {cf.  Ps.  xxxiv.  5  ;  Job  xxi  18) 

“  From  face  of  the  earth  ”  is  not  in  the  Hebrew.  It  goes  naturally 
enough  with  pulvis.  The  Greek  xvous  can  mean  chaff  or  dust. 

5.  The  Trial  is  the  great  Messianic  Assize,  the  final  Judgment 
where  the  wicked  shall  be  set  apart  from  the  good  in  the  sight  of 
ali.  The  way  of  the  wicked  is  their  path  of  life,  or  plan  of  action. 
The  just  will  form  an  exclusi  ve  group  after  the  great  separation  * 
the  wicked  will  have  no  part  with  them  {cf.  Is.  iv.  3).  The  Hebrew’ 
has  will  not  stand  in  the  Trial,”  i. e.  will  not  prevail  in  it.  Resurgent 
(with  its  suggestion  of  the  Resurrection  of  the  Just)  is  due  to  the 
Christian  imagination  of  fhe  translator. 


6.  Gods  knowledge  implies  interest  and  approval.  Cf.  Ps.  xxxvi. 
18  ;  Lk.  xiii.  2 7,  etc.  The  just  will  live  in  the  light  of  Gods  face, 

but  the  way  of  the  wicked  will  be  through  darkness,  and  will  lead  to 
death. 

There  is  a  striking  parallel  to  this  psalm  in  Jeremias  xvii.  5-8  : 


‘  Accursed  is  the  man  who  trusts  in  men, 
and  makes  flesh  his  arm  ; 
but  his  heart  is  disloyal  to  Yahweh. 

He  is  like  a  leafless  tree  in  the  plain,  and  hath  no  experience  of  prosperitv 
He  dwelleth  in  and  tracts  of  the  deseri,  * 

in  a  land  salt-strewn,  and  uninhabitable. 

Blessed  is  the  man  who  trusts  in  Yahweh, 
and  whose  hope  is  Yahweh. 

He  is  like  a  tree  which  is  planted  by  the  waters, 
which  stretcheth  out  its  roots  to  the  brook  ; 

which  feareth  not  when  heat  cometh,  whose’foliage  remaineth  freshly  green 
which^even  m  years  of  drought,  hath  no  care  ;  and  ceaseth  not  to  bring  forth 


For  the  contrast  in  the  lot  of  pious  and  godless,  see  also  Exod.  xx. 

5  ,  Ezech.  xviii.  ;  and  for  a  late  poem  on  the  theme,  cf.  Psalms  of 
Solomon  xiv. 


PSALM  II 


THE  VICTORY  OF  THE  ANOINTED 

THIS  psalm  sets  us  directly  in  the  Messianic  period.  The 
tumuit  of  the  armies  which  are  being  mustered  against  the 
Anointed  is  heard.  The  aim  of  the  muster  is  declared  ;  it  is 
to  shake  off  the  rule  of  the  Messianic  King  (3).  But  God  in 
His  heaven  laughs  at  man's  vain  tumuit  (4),  and  then  with  swift  change 
to  anger,  He  telis  them  (Hebrew,  5)  that  He  has  set  up  His  King  on 
Sion,  against  whom  the  nations  may  rage  in  vain.  The  Anointed 
then  declares  (Hebrew  6-9)  the  powers,  and  the  task  which  the  Most 
High  has  given  to  Him.  He  has  been  set  up  as  the  Son  of  God,  and 
the  earth  and  its  fulness  are  His.  He  is  to  rule  the  nations 
sternly,  and  inexorably  to  repress  their  pride.  The  Psalmist  him- 
self  then  addresses  (10-13)  the  royal  foes  of  the  Messianic  King, 
and  ad  vises  them  to  accept  the  situation,  and  make  submission  to 
the  Anointed  One,  lest  the  Anger  of  God  come  swiftly,  and  destroy 
them. 

The  psalm  has  no  title,  but  it  is  assigned  to  David  in  Acts  iv.  25. 
It  is  frequently  quoted  in  the  New  Testament  (Matt.  iii.  17  ;  Luke  ii. 
26  ;  Acts  iv.  25-28  ;  xiii.  33  ;  Heb.  i.  5  ;  v.  5  ;  Apoc.  ii.  27  ;  xii.  5  ; 
xix.  15).  It  is  obviously  regarded  as  Messianic  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  period.  The  idea  of  hostile  armies  gathering  together  against 
the  Ruler  of  the  Messianic  Kingdom  is  familiar  in  the  Old  Testament ; 
so  also  is  the  thought  of  their  defeat,  on  the  Day  of  Yahweh  (as  here 
verse  13).  The  princes  of  earth  are  warned  by  the  Psalmist  to  do 
homage  to  the  Messianic  King  lest  He  utterly  break  them  in  the 
day  of  His  wrath.  Every  king  of  Israel  was  an  Anointed  (a  Messias 
=  Mashiah)  of  the  Lord,  and  it  has  been  conjectured  that  we  have 
in  Psalm  ii.  an  ode  in  honour  of  some  actual  king  of  Israel.  The 
king,  indeed,  could  be  called  a  son  of  God,  as  Solomon  was  (cf.  II  Kings 
vii.  14)  ;  but  the  universal  power  which  is  given  to  the  Anointed  of 
this  psalm  does  not  fit  in  with  the  facts  of  Hebrew  history.  We 
must  then,  with  the  Apostolic  Church,  look  beyond  every  actual 
king  of  Israel  for  the  Anointed  of  this  psalm. 

The  literary  manner  of  the  poem  resembles  that  of  the  Hebrew 
prophets  generally,  and  there  is  no  reason  for  refusing  to  the  psalm 
a  date  in  the  period  of  the  early  Monarchy.  Modern  attempts  to 
assign  it  to  the  Maccabean  period  spring  from  prejudice,  and  must 
face  the  great  literary  difftculty  that,  as  can  be  judged  from  an 
imitation  of  our  Psalm  apparently  belonging  to  the  Maccabean  age 

4 


THE  VICTORY  OF  THE  ANOINTED 


5 

(Psalms  of  Solomon,  xvii.  1  the  treatment  of  the  theme  of  the 

Psalm  would  have  been  quite  different  in  that  period. 


1.  Quare  fremuerunt  Gentes,  i. 
et  populi  meditati  sunt  inania  ? 

2.  Astiterunt  reges  terrae,  et  2. 
principes  convenerunt  in  unum 
adversus  Dominum,  et  adversus 
Christum  ejus. 

3.  Dirumpamus  vincula  eo-  3. 
rum :  et  projiciamus  a  nobis 
jugum  ipsorum. 


Why  do  the  nations  clamour  ? 

Why  do  the  peoples  plan  vain  things  ? 
Kings  of  earth  stand  forth  to  challenge, 
And  princes  conspire  against  the  Lord 
and  His  Anointed. 

“  Let  us  break  their  bonds, 

And  cast  off  from  us  their  fetters  !  ” 


4.  Qui  habitat  in  coelis,  irri¬ 
debit  eos  :  et  Dominus  sub¬ 
sannabit  eos. 

5.  Tunc  loquetur  ad  eos  in 
ira  sua,  et  in  furore  suo  con¬ 
turbabit  eos. 

6.  Ego  autem  constitutus  sum 
Rex  ab  eo  super  Sion  montem 
sanctum  ejus,  praedicans  prae¬ 
ceptum  ejus. 


4.  He  that  dwelleth  in  heaven  doth  mock 

them, 

And  the  Lord  doth  laugh  them  to  scom. 

5.  Then  doth  He  speak  to  them  in  His  anger, 

And  in  His  fierce  wrath  doth  He  dismay 
them. 

6.  "  I  have  been  established  as  King  by  Him 

over  Sion, 

His  holy  Mountain  ;  as  Herald  of  His 
decree. 


7.  Dominus  dixit  ad  me  : 
Filius  meus  es  tu,  ego  hodie 
genui  te. 

8.  Postula  a  me,  et  dabo  tibi 
Gentes  haereditatem  tuam,  et 
possessionem  tuam  terminos 
terras. 

9.  Reges  eos  in  virga  ferrea, 
et  tamquam  vas  figuli  con¬ 
fringes  eos. 


7.  The  Lord  hath  said  to  me  : 

“  Thou  art  my  Son  ; 

This  day  I  have  begotten  Thee. 

8.  Ask  of  me,  and  I  will  give  Thee  the  nations 

as  Thy  inheritance, 

And  the  ends  of  the  earth  as  Thy 
possession. 

9.  Thou  shalt  rule  them  with  a  sceptre  of  iron, 

And  thou  shalt  shatter  them  like  a 
potter’s  vessel.” 


10.  Et  nunc  reges  intelligite  :  10. 

erudimini  qui  judicatis  terram. 

11.  Servite  Domino  in  timo-  11. 
re  :  et  exsultate  ei  cum  tremore. 

12.  Apprehendite  disciplinam,  12. 
nequando  irascatur  Dominus,  et 
pereatis  de  via  justa. 

13.  Cum  exarserit  in  brevi  ira  13. 
ejus,  beati  omnes  qui  confidunt 

in  eo. 


Now,  therefore,  O  kings,  be  ye  wise  ; 

Be  advised,  ye  rulers  of  earth  ! 

Serve  the  Lord  with  fear  ; 

And  rejoice  before  Him  with  trem- 
bling. 

Accept  instruction,  lest  perchance,  the 
Lord  grow  angry, 

And  ye  come  to  naught,  missing  the 
true  path, 

When  His  anger  doth  swiftly  blaze  forth ! 
Fortunate  are  ali  who  put  their  trust 
in  Him. 


1.  Meditari  here,  as  in  Psalm  i.  2,  suggests  the  spoken  or  murmured 
thought.  The  poet,  who  throughout  the  psalm,  speaks  in  the  manner 
of  the  prophets,  hears  in  mysterious  prophetic  fashion,  the  murmuring 
voices  of  the  hosts  that  gather  to  battle  against  the  Messianic  King. 

2.  The  standing  forth  is  the  provocative  standing  forth  of  a 


1  Possibly  this  Psalm  is  as  late  as  104  b.c.,  but  it  illustrates,  at  all  events, 
the  literary  methods  of  the  second  century  b.c. 


6 


THE  PSALMS 


Champion  or  of  a  leader.  The  Anointed  is  the  Messias.  This  is 
ciear  from  the  New  Testament  texts  referred  to  above  ;  it  is  also  the 
view  of  the  Targum.  The  thought  here  may,  of  course,  be  influenced 
by  the  description  of  Solomon  in  II  Kings,  vii.  12-16.  The  Messianic 
King  is  often  described  in  ternas  of  Davidic  glory,  but  generally,  as 
here,  He  is  made  greater  than  any  King  of  David’s  house.  It  has 
often  been  maintained  that  Psalm  ii.  is  a  Coronation  Ode  in  honour 
of  some  King  of  Israel.  David,  Solomon,  Josaphat,  Ezechias  have 
been  identified  by  different  critics  with  the  Anointed.  The  Maccabean 
prince  Alexander  Jannaeus  (a  tyrant  and  murderer  who  on  one 
occasion  crucified  800  Pharisees,  and  had  their  wives  and  children 
slain  before  their  eyes  while  they  hung  on  their  gibbets)  has  also  been 
put  forward  by  scholars  as  the  theme  of  Psalm  ii.  The  description, 
however,  of  the  position  and  task  of  the  Anointed  fits  no  historical 
king  of  Israel,  and  the  New  Testament  identification  of  Him  with 
the  Messias,  the  ideal  King  of  Israel,  must  be  accepted.  (For  the 
king  as  the  “  Anointed  of  Yahweh,,,  cf.  I  Kings,  xxiv.  7  ;  xxvi.  9  ; 
Ps.  xvii.  51,  etc.) 

3.  The  plural  “  their  ”  is  due  to  the  thought  that  the  Israelites 
will  be  the  army  of  the  Anointed  in  the  Messianic  age.  This  implies 
belief  in  the  predominance  of  Israel  over  the  kings  and  princes  of  the 
world.  We  can  see  how  even  the  Apostles,  after  they  had  lived  a 
long  time  with  Our  Lord,  and  witnessed  His  death,  could  not  easily 
get  rid  of  the  idea  of  the  Messias  as  King  of  a  world  subdued  to 
Israel  {cf.  Acts  i.  6). 

4,  5.  God  laughs  first ;  then  speaks  in  anger.  Cf.  Is.  xvii.  12  for 
a  somewhat  parallel  situation. 

6.  The  Latin  puts  the  words  in  the  mouth  of  the  Anointed — giving 
thus  no  further  meaning  to  loquetur  (5).  In  the  Hebrew  the  words 
are  spoken  by  God,  and  the  sense  is  :  ‘  How  can  you  dare  to  muster 
your  armies  against  the  king  whom  I  have  established  on  Sion  ?  ’ 

Prcedicans  prceceptum,  etc.,  is  spoken  by  the  Anointed  ;  “I  would 
teli  of  His  decree,”  i.e.,  the  decree  of  Sonship  and  world-rule  which 
follows,  verse  7. 

7.  By  being  set  up  as  World-Ruler  the  Anointed  is  declared  to  be 
Son  and  Heir  of  God.  Hodie  genui  te  must  mean  :  ‘  To-day  {i.e.,  Thy 
day  of  victory  and  glory  ’)  I  have  given  Thee  the  fulness  of  splendour 
due  to  Thee  as  my  Son.’  There  is  no  question  of  mere  adoption  here 
(as  some  modern  critics  assert),  but  of  making  evident  to  ali,  the 
Sonship  of  the  Anointed.  The  verse  is  used  by  St.  Paul  in  Acts.  xiii. 
33  as  referring  to  Christ  (so  also  Heb.  v.  5).  The  hodie,  the  Day  of 
Victory,  is  taken  by  St.  Paul  as  the  Day  of  Christ 's  Resurrection 
{cf.  Roms.  i.  3-4).  A  very  well  authenticated  text  of  Luke  iii.  22, 
gives  the  words  spoken  by  the  voice  from  heaven  at  Christ ’s  baptism 
exactly  as  in  Psalm  ii.  7  :  “  Thou  art  my  Son  :  this  day  I  have  be- 
gotten  Thee.”  The  divine  Sonship  was  declared,  then,  at  the  Baptism  ; 


THE  VICTORY  OF  THE  ANOINTED 


7 


it  was  declared  more  definitely  by  the  Resurrection.  Israel  is  fre- 
quently  called  in  Scripture,  directly  or  equivalently,  the  first-bom 
Son  of  God  (Exod.  iv.  22/.  ;  Deut.  xiv.  1  ;  Is.  i.  2  ;  Jer.  xxxi.  9,  20)  ; 
but  of  Israel  God  never  says  :  “  I  have  begotten  thee.”  The  two  parts 
of  the  oracle,  “  Thou  art  my  Son,”  and  “  This  day  I  have  begotten 
thee  ”  must  be  explained  together,  and  no  exegesis  which  attends 
merely  to  one  part  of  the  verse  is  adequate.  The  view  that  since 
“  Thou  art  my  Son,”  is  an  adoption-formula  familiar  in  an  cient 
Semitic  usage  (cf.  Code  of  Hammurapi,  170-171),  the  verse  means 
no  more  than  the  divine  adoption  of  an  Israelite  king  as  Son,  breaks 
down  completely  before  the  words  :  Hodie  genui  te. 

8,  9.  The  world-rule  is  here  granted,  ‘‘  Thou  shalt  rule  ”  is  due 
probably  to  a  misreading  of  the  Greek  translator.  The  Hebrew  : 
‘  Thou  shalt  sinite/  goes  better  with  the  parallel :  ‘  Thou  shalt  shatter/ 
There  is  question  here  of  the  policy  of  the  Anointed  towards  His  foes. 
Cf.  Is.  xxx.  14  ;  Ps.  lxxxviii.  21-30  ;  lxxi.  8-1 1. 

10-13.  The  poet  here  warns  the  enemies  of  the  Messias  to  make 
speedy  submission  to  Him.  Apprehendite  disciplinam  is  a  very  in- 
telligible  substitute  for  a  practically  impossible  phrase  in  the  tra- 
ditional  Hebrew  text. 

Pereatis  de  via  is  a  pregnant  expression — *  come  to  ruin  by  missing 
the  true  path/  The  anger  of  the  Lord  will  be  shown  on  the  Day  of 
Yahweh,  the  dies  irae ,  the  day  on  which  He  will  make  plain  to  all  that 
a  God  of  holiness  and  justice  rules  the  world.  Cf.  Amos  vi.  10/. 
v.  12,  17  ;  Soph.  i.  7/;  Mal.  iii.  2  ;  iv.  5  ;  Joel  iii.  12  ;  Zach.  14. 

13.  Cum  exarserit :  the  Hebrew  would,  perhaps,  be  best  rendered  : 
‘  For  soon  shall  His  wrath  blaze  forth/  The  Day  of  Yahweh  is  not 
far  distant.  A  new  clause  should  begin  with  beati. 


PSALM  III 

A  MORNING  PRAYER 


•* 


IN  both  Hebrew  and  Vulgate  this  psalm  is  connected  with 
the  flight  of  David  from  Jerusalem  during  the  rebellion  of 
Absalom.  The  situation  implied  is  that  which  is  described  in 
II  Kings,  15-18.  As  he  fled  to  Mahanaim,  David’s  position 
seemed  well  nigh  desperate.  Many,  indeed,  were  they  who  rose 
against  him.  All  Israel  “  had  tumed  its  heart  to  Absalom.”  The 
faint-hearted  friends  of  the  king  were  telling  him  that  it  was  useless  to 
look  further  for  help  from  God.  Yet,  in  all  his  grief  and  humiliation, 
David  passionately  proclaims  his  unbroken  confidence  in  his  God. 
He  recalls  the  many  tokens  of  His  mercy  in  the  past :  he  remembers 
how  often  God  has  been  his  protector,  his  shield,  the  loved  object  of 
his  proud  homage,  the  kind  Friend  who  so  often  had  given  him  hope 
and  courage  when  he  was  straitened.  Wearied  with  the  grief s  and 
toils  of  his  hasty  flight,  David,  in  the  midst  of  perils,  spends  a  night 
in  sleep.  When  he  awakes  he  sees  a  new  and  touching  token  of 
God’s  watchful  love  in  the  safety  in  which  he  has  passed  a  night  of 
peaceful  slumber,  though  threatened  on  every  side  by  ruthless  foes. 
“  Let  my  enemies  come  in  thousands,  I  will  not  fear  them,”  he  says 
in  an  outburst  of  heroic  confidence.  In  the  same  spirit  of  confidence, 
deeming  the  future  of  his  hope  already  present,  he  raises  the  ancient 
battle-cry  of  victorious  Israel :  “  Arise,  O  Yahweh  !  ”  and  in  spirit 
he  sees  his  enemies  broken,  and  their  fangs,  with  which,  wild-beast- 
like,  they  had  threatened  him,  shattered.  To  Yahweh  alone,  he  sees, 
belongs  the  strength  of  victory. 

The  royal  prayer  at  the  close,  pointing  clearly  to  a  kingly  poet,  is 
called  forth  by  the  thought  of  the  horrors  of  the  civil  war  which  has 
begun  :  ‘  On  Israel,  Thy  people,  be  Thy  blessing,  Yahweh  !  ' 

There  is  no  good  reason  that  can  be  opposed  to  the  Davidic  origin 
of  the  psalm.  The  reference  to  the  holy  mountain  (5)  does  not  pro  ve 
that  the  Temple  was  on  Sion  when  the  poem  was  composed.  The 
Ark  was  already  on  Sion.  Indeed,  David  had  instructed  the  priests 
who  wished  to  carry  away  the  Ark  in  his  flight  to  bring  it  back  to 
Sion.  The  concluding  verse  clearly  implies  a  royal  author. 

1.  Psalmus  David,  cum  fuge-  1.  A  psalm  of  David  when  he  fled  from  his 
ret  a  facie  Absalom  filii  sui.  son  Absalom. 


2.  Domine  quid  multiplicati 
sunt  qui  tribulant  me  ?  multi 
insurgunt  adversum  me. 


2.  O  Lord  how  many  are  they  that  oppress 
me  ! 

How  many  there  are  that  rise  up  against 
me  ! 


8 


A  MORNING  PRAYER 


9 


3.  Multi  dicunt  animae  meae  : 
Non  est  salus  ipsi  in  Deo  ejus. 


3.  Many  do  say  of  me  : 

“  For  him  there  is  no  help  in  his  God.” 


4.  Tu  autem  Domine  susce¬ 
ptor  meus  es,  gloria  mea,  et 
exaltans  caput  meum. 

5.  Voce  mea  ad  Dominum 
clamavi :  et  exaudivit  me  de 
monte  sancto  suo. 


4.  But  Thou,  O  Lord,  art  my  Protector  ; 

My  Pride,  and  He  that  upliftetb  my 
head. 

5.  With  my  voice  I  cry  to  the  Lord  : 

And  He  heareth  me  from  His  holy 
mountain. 


6.  Ego  dormivi,  et  soporatus  6. 
sum  :  et  exsurrexi,  quia  Domi¬ 
nus  suscepit  me. 

7.  Non  timebo  millia  populi  7. 
circumdantis  me  :  exsurge  Do¬ 
mine,  salvum  me  fac,  Deus 
meus. 


I  laid  me  down  to  rest,  and  slept ; 

And  I  arise  because  the  Lord  doth  pro 
tect  me. 

I  fear  not  even  thousands  of  the  people, 
Who  encompass  me  round  about. 

Arise,  O  Lord  ;  save  me,  my  God  ! 


8.  Quoniam  tu  percussisti 
omnes  adversantes  mihi  sine 
causa  :  dentes  peccatorum  con¬ 
trivisti. 

9.  Domini  est  salus  :  et  super 
populum  tuum  benedictio  tua. 


8.  For  Thou  hast  smitten  ali  those  who  were 

my  foes  without  cause  ; 

The  teeth  of  sinners  Thou  hast  broken. 

9.  With  the  Lord  is  help  ; 

On  Thy  people  be  Thy  blessing  ! 


1.  A  psalm  (Hebrew,  mizmor)  is  a  song  intended  to  be  sung  to  a 
musical  accompaniment. 

2.  Quid  multiplicati,  etc.,  is  Hebrew  idiom  for  :  “  How  greatly  are 
they  multiplied  ;  how  many  they  are  who,  etc.”  II  Kings  xv.,  telis 
how  all  Israel  supported  Absalom  with  enthusiasm. 

3.  Animae  meae,  ‘  about  me/  Anima  is  often  used  for  self  (and 
thus  may  take  the  place  of  a  personal  pronoun)  ;  it  is  also  frequently 
used  as=life.  We  ought  to  ha  ve  the  ablative  with  de  instead  of  the 
dative. 

Ipsi— huic. 

In  Deo  ejus :  the  ejus  is  wanting  in  the  Hebrew.  The  multi 
here  are  not  the  hostile  multi  of  verse  2,  but  the  half-hearted  wavering 
friends  of  David. 

4.  The  king’s  proud  answer  to  the  pessimists  :  ‘  The  Lord  will 

help  me  as  He  has  always  helped  me/ 

Susceptor  is  used  in  the  Psalter  as=helper  or  defender.  The 
Hebrew,  “  Thou,  O  Yahweh,  art  a  shield  round  about  me,”  is  changed 
intentionally  into  the  less  vivid,  but,  to  the  later  mind,  more  respect- 
ful :  Susceptor  meus  es  tu. 

Exaltare  caput  may  mean  either,  to  imbue  with  fresh  courage, 
or,  to  raise  to  high  dignity  ;  here  the  former. 

5.  Voce  mea ;  Hebrew,  “  I — my  voice — did  call.”  The  Ark  was 
already  on  Sion,  and  thither  he  tums  in  prayer,  and  thence  help 
comes.  Clamavi  =  clamo.  Exaudivi— exaudiet. 

6.  Dormivi,  ‘  I  laid  me  down  to  rest ' ;  or,  ‘  I  lay  me  down  to  rest/ 


IO 


THE  PSALMS 


The  text  might  be  taken  in  one  of  three  different  senses.  David 
may  be  speaking  of  past  experiences  when,  though  surrounded  with 
danger,  he  slept  hoping  for  God’s  protection  and  received  it.  Or,  he 
may  be  thought  as  singing  this  psalm  in  the  morning  after  a  night  of 
peaceful  slumber  during  Absaloms  rebellion  ;  or,  we  might  assume 
that  David  here  speaks  a  word  of  confidence  before  he  gives  himself 
to  rest,  remembering  God’s  favours  in  the  past.  The  second  view 
would  make  the  psalm  a  morning  song  (the  more  popular,  and  likely 
view)  ;  the  third  would  make  it  an  evening  song. 

Suscepit,  protected.  Cf.  susceptor,  verse  4. 

7.  Circumdantes,  in  hostile  sense,  ‘  beset  me/ 

Exsurge  Domine  !  ‘  Up,  O  Yahweh  !  ’ — as  if  the  Lord  were  seated 
in  idleness  or  indifference. 

Kumah  Yahweh,  ‘  Arise,  O  Yahweh  !  *  was  a  battle  cry  of  Israel. 
Save  me — the  safety  of  the  King  is  needed  for  the  safety  of  his  people. 

8.  Sine  causa  is  to  be  read  with  adversantes.  Sine  causa,  rashly, 
in  vain,  gratuitously.  The  Hebrew  is  a  more  probable  text  here  : 
“  Thou  hast  smitten  the  cheek  of  my  foes.  Thou  hast  broken  the 
teeth  of  the  godless.”  The  Greek  translators  read  here:  lehinnam,' 
in  vain,  for  lehi,  face  or  jaw.  The  foes  are  thought  of  as  furious 
wild  beasts. 

9.  Help  can  come  from  God  alone,  and  hence  the  royal  singer 
prays  :  ‘  Let  Thy  blessing  come  upon  Thy  people/ 


PSALM  IV 


A  VESPER  SONG 


THE  psalmist  who,  according  to  the  title  of  the  poem,  is  David, 
begs  of  the  Lord  the  continuance  of  His  mercies  and  favours 
(verse  2).  He  is  of  troubled  mind  because  there  are  some 
who  turn  aside  from  God,  and  speak  falsely  of  himself. 
These  he  addresses  as  “  Children  of  men  ”  (verse  3).  He  reminds 
them  of  the  striking  favours  which  he  has  received  from  God,  and 
urges  them  to  abandon  the  schemes  which  they  are  planning  against 
him.  He  ad  vises  them  to  turn  to  God  with  a  perfect  sacrifice — the 
token  of  a  perfect  heart.  Men  complain  of  the  failure,  and  sadness 
of  all  things.  “  And  yet,”  says  the  psalmist,  “  the  blessed  light  of 
God’s  face  is  on  us  who  trust  in  Him,  and  filis  us  with  a  joy  more 
deep  than  the  gladness  of  a  rich  harvest  or  vintage.” 

He  that  lives  in  the  light  of  God’s  face  has  no  fear ;  and,  with 
perfect  trust  in  the  Lord’s  protecting  care,  the  psalmist  lays  him  down 
to  rest.  The  sleep  that  comes  at  once  betokens  the  peace  of  his 
heart,  and  the  fulness  of  his  trust.  The  concluding  verses  show  the 
psalm  to  be  a  vesper  prayer. 

Tradi tion  assigns  the  psalm  to  David,  and  it  also  assigns  the  com¬ 
positi  on  of  the  poem  to  the  period  following  the  defeat  of  Absalom. 
It  is  ciear  from  the  text  itself  that  the  poet  is  a  person  of  importance. 
His  enemies  are  men  of  high  rank  (“  children  of  men  ”).  The  designa- 
tion  of  the  psalmist  as  sanctus  (Hebrew  Hasid)  is  regarded  by  many 
modem  critics  as  an  indication  of  a  late  (probably  Maccabean)  origin 
of  the  psalm.  The  contention,  however,  that  hasid  ( sanctus )  is  a 
sort  of  technical  term  confined  to  the  Greek  period,  is,  to  say  the 
least,  not  proven. 


1.  In  finem  in  carminibus,  1. 
Psalmus  David. 


2.  Cum  invocarem  exaudivit  2. 
me  Deus  justitiae  meae  :  in  tri¬ 
bulatione  dilatasti  mihi. 

Miserere  mei,  et  exaudi  ora¬ 
tionem  meam. 


3.  Filii  hominum  usquequo 
gravi  corde  ?  ut  quid  diligitis 
vanitatem,  et  quaeritis  menda¬ 
cium  ? 


For  the  choir  leader  :  on  stringed  instru- 
ments.  A  psalm  of  David. 


When  I  call  on  Him,  my  just  God  heareth 
me. 

When  I  was  straitened,  Thou  didst  set 
me  at  large, 

Be  gracious  to  me,  and  hear  my  prayer. 


Ye  children  of  men,  how  long  will  ye  be 
of  hardened  heart  ? 

Why  love  ye  the  futile  ;  and  seek  after 
the  false  ? 


12 


THE  PSALMS 


4.  Et  scitote  quoniam  miri- 
ficavit  Dominus  sanctum  suum  : 
Dominus  exaudiet  me  cum  cla¬ 
mavero  ad  eum. 

5.  Irascimini,  et  nolite  pec¬ 
care  :  quae  dicitis  in  cordibus 
vestris,  in  cubilibus  vestris  com¬ 
pungimini. 

6.  Sacrificate  sacrificium  ju¬ 
stitiae,  et  sperate  in  Domino. 


4.  Know  ye  that  the  Lord  hath  wondrously 

favoured  His  worshipper. 

The  Lord  doth  hear  me  when  I  invoke 
Him. 

5.  Be  angry  [with  me,  if  ye  will]  ;  but  sin  not. 

What  ye  plan  in  your  hearts  repent  of 
on  your  couches. 

6.  Offer  a  due  sacrifice,  and  put  your  trust 

in  the  Lord. 


Multi  dicunt :  Quis  ostendit 
nobis  bona  ? 

7.  Signatum  est  super  nos 
lumen  vultus  tui  Domine  :  de¬ 
disti  laetitiam  in  corde  meo. 

8.  A  fructu  frumenti,  vini,  et 
olei  sui  multiplicati  sunt. 


Many  there  are  who  say  :  Who  will  give 
us  to  see  good  fortune  ? 

7.  Shown  forth  upon  us  is  the  light  of 

Thy  face,  O  Lord. 

8.  Thou  givest  joy  to  my  heart, 

Greater  than  doth  the  produce  of  corn 
and  wine,  and  oil,  when  these  abound. 


9.  In  pace  in  idipsum  dor¬ 
miam,  et  requiescam  ; 

10.  Quoniam  tu  Domine  sin¬ 
gulariter  in  spe  constituisti  me. 


9.  In  peace  I  lay  me  down,  and  sleep  forth- 
with. 

For  Thou  alone,  O  Lord,  makest  me  to 
abide  in  calm  security. 


1.  In  finem  represents  the  Greek  To  reXo?.  The  Greek  phrase 
seems  to  have  arisen  from  a  misreading  or  misunderstanding  of  the 
Hebrew  lawlnasseah,  ‘  for  the  choir-leader.’  Jerome  has  victori ,  as  if 
there  were  question  of  the  Aramaic  verb  nesah,  to  be  victorious. 
Accepting  in  finem  as  correct,  some  commentators  took  it  to  mean 
that  the  psalm  was  to  be  sung  unceasingly ;  others,  that  it  was  to 
be  sung  towards  the  close  of  the  Service  ;  others  again,  equate  it  with 
" fortissimo  ”  ;  others  take  it  as  implying  that  the  psalm  could  be 
sung  at  any  time,  and  not  merely  on  certain  stated  days  or  feasts. 
The  Greek  commentators  have  attached  all  sorts  of  deep  meanings 
to  the  phrase.  The  sense  of  the  Hebrew — “  for  the  choir-leader  ” 
is  to  be  preferred  here,  and  in  all  the  other  psalm-inscriptions  in 
which  in  finem  occurs.  The  inscription  apparently  implies  that 
every  poem  to  which  it  is  prefixed,  belonged  in  a  special  way  to  the 
ofhcial  collection  of  songs  which  would  be  in  charge  of  the  chief 
singer. 

In  carminibus ,  ‘  with  stringed  instruments  ’  (Hebrew). 

Psalm ,  a  song  sung  to  a  musical  accompaniment  (mizmor). 

2.  Deus  justitice  mece,  ‘  my  just  God.’  The  construction  is  the 
common  Hebrew  one  of  noun  in  construet  state  with  connected 
abstract  substantive,  instead  of  noun  and  adjective.  Compare 
sacrificium  justitice  ;  Deus  salutis,  and  similar  constructions. 

Dilatasti.  For  the  Oriental,  pain  and  sorrow  and  defeat  are 
symbolised  and  suggested  by  narrowness  of  space  restricting  move- 
ment.  Freedom  of  open  spaces  suggests  strength  and  gladness, 
Hence  the  phrase,  Ambulavi  in  latitudine  (118,  45.  Cf.  1 7,  20). 


A  VESPER  SONG 


J3 

Miserere,  be  gracious  to  me.  Note  that  oratio  is  used  freely  in 
the  Vulgate  in  the  Christian  sense  of  ‘  prayer.’ 

3-5.  “  Sons  of  men  ”  ( bene  ’ish,  not  bene  ’adam)  is  suggesti  ve  of 
men  of  standing.  These  he  warns  to  be  careful  when  they  are 
tempted  to  scheme  against  him.  They  have  spoken  calumnies  about 
him  ;  but  the  psalmist  telis  them  that  God  has  helped  him  with 
wondrous  deeds  of  mercy  in  the  past,  and  will  do  so  once  more  against 
themselves.  If  they  are  angry  with  him,  let  them  not  give  rein  to 
their  anger,  and  speak  sinful  words  of  malice  against  him.  Or,  the 
sense  may  be,  according  to  the  Hebrew  :  “  Tremble  (at  the  thought 
of  God's  vengeance)  and  sin  not.”  Instead  of  breathing  rage  and 
malice  against  the  psalmist.  they  should  offer  a  due  sacrifice,  i. e.,  a 
sacrifice  perfect  in  the  sense  required  by  the  Law,  and  perfect  also 
as  inspired  by  a  humble  and  contrite  spirit. 

That  sanctus  (hasid),  i. e.,  ‘  faithful  worshipper  ’  of  the  Lord,  means 
necessarily,  as  many  critics  contend,  a  faithful  Jew  of  the  Maccabean 
period,  is  a  mere  hypo thesis. 

Dicere  in  corde,  “  think.” 

6-9.  While  men  are  complaining  :  “  When  shall  we  see  happiness 
again  ?  ”  the  psalmist  urges  them  to  be  of  good  heart.  Quis  ostendit, 
*  O  that  some  one  might  show  !  ’  The  psalmist  uses  here  the  words  of 
the  High  Priesfs  blessing,  Num.  vi.  25/.  :  “  May  Yahweh  bless  thee 
and  keep  thee,  and  make  His  face  to  shine  upon  thee.”  In  that 
light  of  God’s  face  there  can  be  no  grief,  but  only  a  gladness  greater 
than  that  of  harvest-time. 

7.  In  corde,  for,  in  cor. 

The  a  with  fructu,  etc.,  is  the  Hebrew  comparative  particle  min. 
The  joy  of  an  abundant  harvest  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
intense  of  ali  joys.  Cf.  Isaias  ix.  3. 

9.  Conscio us  of  the  Lord's  unceasing  care,  he  can  lay  him  down, 
and  abandon  himself  to  the  sleep  that  comes  without  delay  (in  idipsum, 
‘  at  once  '). 


PSALM  V 


A  PRAYER  FOR  GUIDANCE  AND  FOR  THE 
PUNISHMENT  OF  THE  GODLESS 

t 

HERE  David  (according  to  the  title  of  the  poem)  depicts 
himself  as  a  priest  who  comes  for  the  morning  offering 
to  the  Temple.  The  morning  Service  is  preluded  by  a 
prayer  for  God’s  help  and  guidance.  The  priest  sets  the 
morning  sacrifice  in  order,  and  then  waits  for  the  tokens  of  God’s 
good  pleasure.  He  reflects  that  neither  the  unjust,  nor  liars,  nor 
murderers,  nor  the  treacherous,  are  tolerated  in  the  presence  of  the 
Lord.  And  yet,  he  himself  is  before  the  face  of  his  God  in  the  Temple  ; 
but  he  has  this  privilege  only  through  the  rich  fulness  of  God’s  kind- 
ness  and  mercy.  He  begs,  then,  to  be  kept  on  the  path  which  God 
would  have  him  follow.  He  calls  for  Divine  punishment  on  the 
godless  and  unjust;  but  for  the  faithful  worshippers  like  himself 
he  begs  the  continuance  of  that  Divine  favour  which  protects,  like 
an  all-encompassing  shield,  the  faithful  friends  of  God. 

There  is  some  difficulty  in  regarding  David  as  the  author  of  this 
psalm.  The  Temple-service  seems  to  be  presupposed — though  it  is 
possible  that  the  “  Temple  ’*  (verse  8)  is  nothing  more  than  the  Tent 
in  which  the  Ark  was  kept  on  Sion.  At  ali  events,  if  David  is  the 
singer,  he  seems  to  take  here  the  role  of  a  priest  who  is  entrusted 
with  the  care  of  the  morning  Service  in  Gods  House.  Lying,  and 
treachery,  and  murder  were  familiar  in  Israel  at  all  periods  ;  and 
the  reference  to  general  godlessness  does  not,  therefore,  greatly  help 
to  date  the  poem. 


1.  In  finem  pro  ea  quae  haere-  i. 
ditatem  consequitur  Psalmus 
David. 

2.  Verba  mea  auribus  percipe  2. 
Domine,  intellige  clamorem  me¬ 
um. 

3.  Intende  voci  orationis  meae,  3. 
Rex  meus  et  Deus  meus. 

4.  Quoniam  ad  te  orabo  :  4. 

Domine  mane  exaudies  vocem 
meam. 

5.  Mane  astabo  tibi  et  vi-  5. 

debo  : 


Quoniam  non  Deus  volens  ini¬ 
quitatem  tu  es. 


For  the  choir-leader.  According  to  .  .  . 
A  psalm  of  David. 


Give  ear  to  my  words,  O  Lord  ! 

Give  heed  to  my  cry. 

Regard  the  words  of  my  prayer, 

My  King  and  my  God  ! 

For  to  Thee  do  I  pray,  my  Lord,  in  the 
morning  ; 

Thou  hearest  my  voice. 

In  the  morning  I  present  myself  before 
Thee, 

And  remain  on  the  watch  (for  Thee). 

For  Thou  art  not  a  God  that  taketh 
pleasure  in  injustice  ; 


A  PRAYER  FOR  GUIDANCE 


i5 


6.  Neque  habitabit  juxta  te  6. 
malignus  :  neque  permanebunt 
injusti  ante  oculos  tuos. 

7.  Odisti  omnes,  qui  operan-  7. 
tur  iniquitatem  :  perdes  omnes 

qui  loquuntur  mendacium. 

Virum  sanguinum  et  dolosum 
abominabitur  Dominus  : 

8.  Ego  autem  in  multitudine  8. 
misericordiae  tuae. 

Introibo  in  domum  tuam  : 
adorabo  ad  templum  sanctum 
tuum  in  timore  tuo. 


9.  Domine  deduc  me  in  ju-  9. 
stitia  tua :  propter  inimicos 
meos  dirige  in  conspectu  tuo 
viam  meam. 

10.  Quoniam  non  est  in  ore  10. 
eorum  veritas  :  cor  eorum  va¬ 
num  est. 

11.  Sepulchrum  patens  est 
guttur  eorum,  linguis  suis  dolose 
agebant, 


Judica  illos  Deus. 

Decidant  a  cogitationibus  suis, 
secundum  multitudinem  impie¬ 
tatum  eorum  expelle  eos,  quo¬ 
niam  irritaverunt  te  Domine. 

12.  Et  laetentur  omnes,  qui  12. 
sperant  in  te,  in  aeternum  ex¬ 
sultabunt  :  et  habitabis  in  eis. 

Et  gloriabuntur  in  te  omnes, 
qui  diligunt  nomen  tuum, 

13.  Quoniam  tu  benedices  jus-  13. 
to. 

Domine,  ut  scuto  bonae  vo¬ 
luntatis  tuae  coronasti  nos. 


No  wicked  man  can  be  Thy  guest. 

The  godless  abide  not 
In  Thy  presence, 

Thou  hatest  ali  evil-doers  ; 

Thou  destroyest  them  that  speak  false- 
hood. 

The  man  of  bloody  deeds  and  of  treachery 
The  Lord  doth  abhor. 

But  I,  through  the  abundance  of  Thy 
graciousness, 

Do  en  ter  into  Thy  House, 

And  make  homage  towards  Thy  Temple 
With  fear  of  Thee. 


O  Lord,  guide  me  in  Thy  justice, 
Because  of  my  enemies. 

Make  straight  Thou  my  path  before 
Thee. 

For  in  their  mouth  there  is  no  truth  ; 
Their  heart  is  untrustworthy. 


Judge  them,  O  God  ; 

Let  them  fail  in  their  schemes. 

For  the  multitude  of  their  sins  drive 
them  forth  ; 

Because  they  rouse  Thee  to  anger,  O 
Lord. 

And  let  all  who  trust  in  Thee  be  glad  :  • 
Let  them  rejoice  forever. 

Thou  wilt  dwell  in  their  midst. 

And  all  who  love  Thy  Name  will  boast 
of  Thee. 

For  Thou  dost  bless  the  righteous, 

And,  with  the  shield  of  Thy  favour 
Thou  dost  encompass  us,  O  Lord  ! 


11.  An  open  grave  is  their  throat ; 

With  their  tongues  they  deal  treacher- 
ously. 


1.  Pro  ea  quae  hcereditatem  consequitur  ;  seems  to  represent  what 

was,  perhaps,  originally  intended  to  be  the  name  of  a  melody.  The 

Hebrew,  however,  suggests  that  the  reference  is  to  the  instrument 

with  which  the  psalm  was  to  be  accompanied.  ( Nehiloth  may= flutes, 

or,  more  generally,  wind-instruments.)  Jerome,  translating  Pro  haere- 

ditatibus,  gives  no  help.  The  Greek  translators  had  the  same  con- 

sonantal  text  before  them  which  the  Hebrew  stili  shows ;  but  they 

read  hannoheleth  instead  of  hannehiloth.  We  shall  meet  several 

•  • 

parallel  tities,  or  directions,  throughout  the  Psalter.  C/.  lxi.  1 ;  vi.  1 ; 
hi.  1  ;  xxi.  1  ;  etc. 

3.  voci  orationis  mece,  ‘  my  suppliant  voice/ 

5.  Astabo,  Hebrew,  ‘  put  in  order/  i. e.,  make  all  things  ready  (for 
the  moming  sacrifice).  Videbo,  ‘  I  will  look  for  Thee/  i. e.,  will  look 


i6 


THE  PSALMS 


out  for  some  sign1  of  Thy  gracious  presence.  The  psalm  may  perhaps 
be  regarded  as  having  been  sung  as  an  accompaniment  of  the  moming 
sacrifice.  Jerome  translates  :  mane  prceparabor  ad  te  et  contemplabor. 

The  singer  reflects  that  not  all  have  the  privilege  to  be  the 
guests  of  the  Lord,  as  he  has.  Psalm  xiv.  enumerates  the  qualities 
which  are  required  in  the  man  who  will  be  a  guest  in  the  dwelling  of 
the  Lord  ;  they  are  the  qualities  which  are  especially  wanting  in 
those  described  here,  verses  5,  6,  7.  The  psalmist  himself  does  not 
deserve  the  grace  which  he  enjoys  ;  it  is  granted  to  him  by  the  loving 
kindness  of  God.  C/.  Job  v.  13  ;  I  Cor.  iii.  20. 

8.  In  multitudine  miser  icor  dice  tuce,  thro’  Thy  abounding  gracious- 
ness,  or  favour,  and  not  through  any  right  or  claim  of  the  worshipper. 

Ad  templum,  ‘  towards  the  Temple/  If  David  is  the  psalmist,  the 
Temple  must  mean  the  Tabernacle. 

9.  In  justitia,  either,  ‘  on  account  of  Thy  justice/  or,  ‘  on  the  path 
of  Thy  justice/  Propter  inimicos — to  save  me  from  my  foes  ;  it  would 
be  better,  perhaps,  to  read  it  with  deduc  me  in  justitia  than  with  the 
following. 

10.  Vanum :  the  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  their  heart  (interior)  is  destruc- 
tion/  i. e.  their  whole  thought  is  bent  on  destruction.  The  Hebrew, 
hawwoth,  is  not  adequately  represented  by  vanum.  In  Ps.  xxxvii.  13 
it  is  rendered  by  vanitates.  Cf.  Ii.  7. 

11.  An  open  sepulchre — because  of  the  fetidness  which  it  exhales, 
and  its  readiness  to  receive  new  occupants.  The  reference  is  to  the 
malice  of  evil  speech.  For  linguis  suis  dolose  agebant  Jerome  has 
linguam  suam  levificant ;  Hebrew,  ‘  they  make  slippery  their  tongue/ 

Judica,  Hebrew,  ‘  declare  them  guilty/  Jerome,  condemna  eos, 

Greek,  Kpiveiv  =  KaraKpLveiv. 

Decidant  a,  ‘  let  them  be  foiled  so  as  to  fall  short  of/ 

Secundum  multitudinem  impietatum,  etc.  ‘  Because  of  their  multi- 
tudinous  crimes  dash  them  headlong/  Irritaverunt  (Jerome,  provo¬ 
caverunt)  =risen  up  in  rebellion  against  (Hebrew). 

The  psalmist  shows  no  pity  for  the  godless  ;  they  are,  after  all, 
God’s  foes  even  more  than  they  are  his.  The  contrast  of  the  just 
and  sinners  is  made  with  similar  vividness  in  other  psalms.  Cf. 
Ps.  lxiii.  and,  for  a  reflection  of  the  psalmist  on  his  own  privileges 
like  the  present  psalm,  cf.  Ps.  xxv. 

13.  Ut  scuto,  Hebrew  :  *  Thou  dost  crown  ( i. e .,  encompass)  them 
with  [Thy]  good  pleasure  as  with  a  shield/  The  Hebrew  sinnah 
signifies  a  great  shield  covering  the  whole  body. 


1  We  do  not  know  what  kind  of  sign  would  be  looked  for.  Probably  the 
priests  had  at  their  disposal  a  body  of  traditional  lore,  dealing  with  the  tokens 
of  Divine  acceptance  of  sacrifice. 


PSALM  VI 

A  PRAYER  IN  TIME  OF  NEED 


\ 


THE  psalmist  is  in  bitter  need.  Evil-doers  and  enemies  of 
many  kinds  have  caused  him  fear  and  unceasing  care.  His 
strength  is  failing,  and  his  body  is  shaken,  and  his  eyes  have 
lost  the  brightness  of  life.  He  begs  with  intense  earnestness 
to  be  saved  from  the  death  which  threatens  him.  For  the  Lord  can 
look  for  no  advantage  from  his  death.  In  the  underworld  there  is 
no  chorus  of  praise  for  God.  All  at  once  his  fear  is  changed  into 
confident  hope,  and  with  triumphant  repetition  he  telis  how  the 
Lord  has  heard  his  prayer. 

This  psalm  is  ascribed  by  the  title  to  David.  Some  modem 
commentators  have  taken  the  psalm  as  a  complaint  of  a  man  who  is 
stricken  with  some  dreadful  sickness,  and  is  threatened  with  approach- 
ing  death,  and,  at  the  same  time,  is  mocked  by  his  foes.  The  poem, 
however,  as  suggested  in  the  translation,  may  be  understood  of  a 
man  grievously  persecuted  by  his  foes.  It  might  describe  the  troubles 
of  David  when  persecuted  by  Saul,  or  again  during  the  rebellion  of 
Absalom,  or  during  other  grievous  times  which  are  not  described  in 
the  historical  books.  His  enemies  are,  apparently,  expecting  his 
speedy  destruction. 

i.  In  finem  in  carminibus,  i.  For  the  choir-leader  ;  with  stringed  in- 

Psalmus  David,  pro  octava.  struments  ;  according  to  the  octave 

(?)  ;  a  psalm  of  David. 


2.  Domine,  ne  in  furore  tuo 
arguas  me,  neque  in  ira  tua 
corripias  me. 

3.  Miserere  mei  Domine  quo¬ 
niam  infirmus  sum  :  sana  me 
Domine  quoniam  conturbata 
sunt  ossa  mea. 


2.  Lord,  in  Thy  wrath  rebuke  me  not, 
And  in  Thy  fury  chastise  me  not. 


3.  Be  gracious  unto  me,  O  Lord,  for  I  am 
weak. 

Heal  me,  O  Lord,  for  my  bones  are 
shaken. 


4.  Et  anima  mea  turbata  est 
valde  :  sed  tu  Domine  usque - 
quo  ? 

5.  Convertere  Domine,  et 
eripe  animam  meam  :  salvum 
me  fac  propter  misericordiam 
tuam. 

6.  Quoniam  non  est  in  morte 
qui  memor  sit  tui  :  in  inferno 
autem  quis  confitebitur  tibi  ? 

2  17 


4.  Yea,  my  soul  is  greatly  dismayed. 

But  Thou,  O  Lord — how  long  ? 

5.  Rescue  me  once  again,  O  Lord, 

Rescue  me  for  the  sake  of  Thy  gracious- 
ness. 

6.  For  in  death  there  is  none  who  thinks  of 

Thee  ; 

And  in  the  underworld  who  shall  praise 
Thee? 


i8 


THE  PSALMS 


7.  Laboravi  in  gemitu  meo, 
lavabo  per  singulas  noctes  lect¬ 
um  meum  :  lacrimis  meis  stra¬ 
tum  meum  rigabo. 

8.  Turbatus  est  a  furore  ocu¬ 
lus  meus  :  inveteravi  inter 
omnes  inimicos  meos. 

9.  Discedite  a  me  omnes,  qui 
operamini  iniquitatem  :  quo¬ 
niam  exaudivit  Dominus  vocem 
fletus  mei. 

10.  Exaudivit  Dominus  de¬ 
precationem  meam,  Dominus 
orationem  meam  suscepit. 

1 1 .  Erubescant,  et  conturben¬ 
tur  vehementer  omnes  inimici 
mei :  convertantur  et  erubescant 
valde  velociter. 


7.  I  am  wearied  with  my  sighing, 

I  bedew  each  night  my  bed ; 
With  my  tears  I  bathe  my  couch. 


8.  My  eye  is  dim  for  grief, 

I  have  grown  old  because  of  ali  my  foes. 


9.  Begone  from  me  ali  ye  evil-doers, 

For  the  Lord  hath  heard  my  tearful  cry; 


10.  The  Lord  hath  heard  my  petition  ; 

The  Lord  hath  received  my  prayer. 

11.  Utterly  ashamed  and  confused  shall  be 

my  enemies  ; 

Quickly  again  shall  they  be  brought  to 
shame. 


1.  Pro  octava  may  describe  some  particular  kind  of  stringed 
instrument  suitable  to  accompany  songs  like  this.  The  Targum 
explains — a  harp  of  eight  strings. 

2-3.  The  psalmist  is  aware  that  his  own  sins  have  brought  on 
him  his  sorrows.  This  is  the  first  of  the  so-called  Penitential 
Psalms.  The  others  are  xxxi.,  xxxvii.,  1.,  ci.,  cxxix.,  cxlii.  But, 
though  the  psalmist  knows  he  has  deserved  his  punishment,  he 
begs  that  it  may  be  lightened.  His  body  is  shaken  like  a  building 
that  totters  in  an  earthquake. 

4-5.  Usquequo,  ‘  why  dost  Thou  delay  to  help  for  so  long  ?  ’  Con¬ 
vertere  et  eripe  may  be,  "  turn  graciously  to  me  again,  and  rescue 
me  ”  ;  or,  convertere  may  represent,  as  in  verse  11,  a  Hebrew  idiom. 
The  Hebrew  verbs  “  add  ”  and  “  return  ”  are  often  combined  with 
another  verb  to  express  a  repetition  of  the  action  expressed  by  that 
other  verb  :  v.g.  et  conversus  vivificasti  me  (Ps.  lxx.  20)  ;  revertetur 
et  miserebitur  nostri  (Mich.  vii.  19)  ;  neque  convertentur  operire  terram 
(Ps.  ciii.  9)  ;  ‘  they  shall  not  again  cover  the  earth  ’  ;  conversi  sunt  et 
tentaverunt  Deum,  ‘  again  they  tempted  God '  (Ps.  lxxvii.  41)  ;  non 
adjiciat  ut  resurgat,  ‘  he  will  not  rise  again  '  (Ps.  xl.  9)  ;  et  apposuerunt 
adhuc  peccare  ei  (Ps.  lxxvii.  17)  ;  non  apponat  nocere  ei  (Ps.  lxxxviii. 
23)  ;  aut  non  apponet  ut  complacitior  sit  adhuc  (Ps.  lxxvi.  8)  ;  ut  non 
apponat  ultra  magnificare  se  homo  (Ps.  ix.  39). 

Eripe  animam — anima,  life,  as  often  in  Vulgate  Psalter. 

6.  In  morte,  in  the  land  of  death.  The  same  thought  is  suggestcd 
in  xxix.  10  ;  lxxxvii.  12  ;  cxiii.  17  [non  mortui  laudabunt  te  Domine, 
neque  omnes  qui  descendunt  in  infernum).  The  same  idea — that  God 
can  expect  no  glory  or  praise  from  the  dead,  is  expressed  elsewhere 
also  in  the  Old  Testament.  C/.  Isaias,  xxxviii.  18-19  >  Ecclesiasticus, 
xvii.  26  ;  Baruch,  ii.  17  ;  Job,  x.  21-22.  Infernus,  Hebrew,  Sheol 
(Greek,  Hades)  ;  it  was,  in  an  cient  Hebrew  thought,  a  sort  of  under- 
world  where  the  dead  lived  in  darkness  a  life  which  was  only  partly 


A  PRAYER  IN  TIME  OF  NEED 


l9 

real — a  life  without  thought  or  action,  and,  hence,  without  any 
worship  of  God. 

Confiteri ,  ‘  praise  ’ — so  mostly  in  Vulgate  Psalter. 

7-8.  When  other  men  rest,  and  find  relief  fiom  their  sorrow,  then, 
especially  in  the  solitude  of  night,  the  singer  is  distracted  by  his 
griefs.  He  makes  his  couch  to  swim  (Hebrew)  with  the  flood  of  his 
tears.  No  wonder,  then  that  his  eyes  have  lost  their  lustre,  and 
become  like  those  of  an  old  man  {turbatus  est  oculus).  The  furor  is 
vexation  or  grief.  He  himself  has  grown  old  and  feeble  through  the 
unceasing  enmity  of  those  who  are  e  ver  about  him. 

9  fi.  The  sudden  transition  from  deep  dejection  to  vigorous  hope 
is  often  found  in  Hebrew  poetry.  It  is  due  to  the  feeling  that  God 
has  heard  the  poet’s  prayer.  Notice  the  triumphant  repetition  of 
“  has  heard  ”  in  9  and  10. 

For  convertantur ,  see  above,  verse  5.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the 
confusion  of  his  enemies,  and  not  their  destruction,  is  asked  for  by 
the  psalmist. 


PSALM  VII 

A  CRY  FOR  HELP 


THE  psalmist  is  threatened  by  many  enemies,  and  begs  for 
help  against  theai  from  the  Lord.  He  claims  that  he  has 
given  no  cause  for  their  hostility.  Had  he  given  such  cause 
he  would,  he  says,  willingly  pay  for  his  offence  with  death. 
But,  since  he  is  innocent,  he  begs  the  Lord  to  declare  his  innocence 
in  a  public  trial — a  trial  like  the  Last  Judgment — at  which  the 
nations  will  be  gathered  to  hear  the  sentence.1  In  this  trial  God  will, 
the  singer  hopes,  take  His  seat  once  again  as  world-judge,  and  by  His 
sentence  put  an  end  to  evil,  and  protect  the  just.  The  Psalmist  sees 
his  enemies  preparing  a  new  attack  against  him,  and  warns  them  that 
they  are  devising  destruction  for  themselves  when  they  think  of 
destroying  him.  For  the  intervention  of  the  Lord  to  this  end,  which 
the  singer  now  confidently  expects,  he  will  sing  a  hymn  of  praise. 

If  we  could  ascertain  the  real  nature  of  the  charge  made  against 
the  Psalmist  which  is  referred  to  in  verse  4,  we  should  be  able,  perhaps, 
to  date  the  poem  with  some  certainty.  But  we  do  not  know  what 
is  really  implied  in  verse  4.  The  psalmist  is  obviously  a  person  of 
great  importance,  since  a  great  trial,  like  the  Judgment  of  the  nations, 
is  demanded  for  his  sake.  The  Davidic  authorship  claimed  by  the 
superscription,  is,  therefore,  quite  possible.  We  cannot  identify  the 
Benjaminite,  Chusi. 

1.  Psalmus  David,  quem  can-  1.  A  psalm  of  David  which  he  sang  because 
tavit  Domino  pro  verbis  Chusi  of  the  words  of  the  Benjaminite 

filii  Jemini.  Chusi. 


2.  Domine  Deus  meus  in  te 
speravi :  salvum  me  fac  ex 
omnibus  persequentibus  me,  et 
libera  me. 

3.  Nequando  rapiat  ut  leo 
animam  meam,  dum  non  est 
qui  redimat,  neque  qui  salvum 
faciat. 

4.  Domine  Deus  meus  si  feci 
istud,  si  est  iniquitas  in  manibus 
meis  : 


2.  O  Lord  my  God,  in  Thee  do  I  put  my 

trust. 

Save  me  from  my  persecutors  and 
rescue  me, 

3.  That  like  a  lion  they  rend  me  not, 

While  there  is  none  to  rescue  or  save. 


4.  O  Lord  my  God,  if  I  have  done  this  thing, 
If  there  is  injustice  on  my  hands, 

If  I  have  requited  those  that  did  evil  to 
me, 


1  Some  commentators  regard  verses  7-12  as  an  independent  poem.  The 
separation  of  7-12  from  the  rest  of  the  psalm  is  based  chiefly  upon  metri cal 
reasons.  See  Revue  Biblique,  January,  1920,  p.  62,  67  /.  It  has  been  also 
suggested  that  vv.  13-17  should  immediately  follow  v.  6,  and  that  vv.  7-12 
should  be  inserted  between  verses  17  aud  18.  (Schlogl,  Die  Psalmen,  p.  5). 


20 


A  CRY  FOR  HELP 


21 


5.  Si  reddidi  retribuentibus  5. 
mihi  mala,  decidam  merito  ab 
inimicis  meis  inanis. 

6.  Persequatur  inimicus  ani¬ 
mam  meam,  et  comprehendat, 
et  conculcet  in  terra  vitam 
meam,  et  gloriam  meam  in 
pulverem  deducat. 

7.  Exsurge  Domine  in  ira  tua  :  7 

et  exaltare  in  finibus  inimicorum 
meorum. 

Et  exsurge  Domine  Deus 
meus  in  praecepto  quod  man¬ 
dasti  : 

8.  Et  synagoga  populorum  8. 

circumdabit  te. 

Et  propter  hanc  in  altum 
regredere  : 

9.  Dominus  judicat  populos.  9. 

Judica  me  Domine  secundum 

justitiam  meam,  et  secundum 
innocentiam  meam  super  me. 

10.  Consumetur  nequitia  pec-  10. 
catorum,  et  diriges  justum,  scru¬ 
tans  corda  et  renes  Deus. 

11.  Justum  adjutorium  meum  11. 
a  Domino,  qui  salvos  facit 
rectos  corde. 

12.  Deus  judex  justus,  fortis,  12. 
et  patiens  :  numquid  irascitur 

per  singulos  dies  ? 

13.  Nisi  conversi  fueritis  gla-  13. 
dium  suum  vibrabit  :  arcum 
suum  tetendit,  et  paravit  illum. 

14.  Et  in  eo  paravit  vasa  14. 
mortis  :  sagittas  suas  ardenti¬ 
bus  effecit. 

15.  Ecce  parturiit  injustitiam:  15. 
concepit  dolorem,  et  peperit  ini¬ 
quitatem. 

16.  Lacum  aperuit,  et  effodit  16. 
eum  :  et  incidit  in  foveam  quam 
fecit. 

17.  Convertetur  dolor  ejus  in  17. 
caput  ejus  :  et  in  verticem  ipsi¬ 
us  iniquitas  ejus  descendet. 

18.  Confitebor  Domino  secun-  18. 
dum  justitiam  ejus  :  et  psallam 
nomini  Domini  altissimi. 


Then,  indeed,  let  me  fall  helpless  before 
my  foes. 

Then  let  the  enemy  pursue  me,  and  seize 
me  ; 

And  tread  down  my  life  to  earth, 

And  bring  down  my  glory  td  the  dust. 


Arise,  O  Lord,  in  Thy  anger. 

Arise,  O  Lord  my  God  !  for  the  sake 
of  the  command  which  Thou  hast 
given. 

Rise  up  against  the  furious  excesses  of 
my  foes. 

And  the  assembly  of  the  nations  will 
gather  round  Thee, 

And  do  Thou,  because  of  it,  return  (to 
Thy  throne)  on  high. 

The  Lord  is  judge  over  the  nations. 

Judge  me,  O  Lord,  according  to  my 
justice, 

And  according  to  my  innocence — which 
is  in  me. 

Let  the  malice  of  sinners  be  brought  to 
an  end  : 

And  do  Thou  confirm  the  just  man  ; 

Thou  God  that  searchest  heart  and  reins  ! 

My  true  help  is  from  the  Lord, 

Who  maketh  safe  the  upright  of  heart. 


God  is  a  just,  a  strong,  a  long-suffering 
judge. 

Doth  He  grow  angry  every  day  ? 

If  ye  be  not  converted,  He  will  wield  the 
sword. 

He  hath  stretched  out  His  bow  and 
made  it  ready  ; 

And  on  it  He  holdeth  ready  death- 
dealing  darts  ; 

Things  of  fire  hath  He  made  His 
arrows. 

Behold  he  (the  sinner)  is  big  with  in- 
justice. 

He  hath  conceived  mischief,  and 
brought  forth  sin. 

He  hath  digged  a  pit,  and  hollowed  it  out ; 

And  hath  fallen  into  the  pit  which  he 
hath  made. 

His  mischief  falleth  back  on  his  own  head 

And  on  his  own  pate  his  malice  returns. 


I  will  praise  the  Lord  because  of  His 
justice  ; 

And  I  will  hymn  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
the  Most  High. 


1.  The  Hebrew  calls  this  poem  a  shiggayon — a  term  of  uncertain 
meaning  (cf.  Hab.  iii.  1).  Jerome’s  rendering,  Pro  ignoratione,  gives 


22 


THE  PSALMS 


no  help.  In  his  translation  Jerome  takes  Chusi  as  meaning  Ethiopian 
and  Jemini  he  regards  as  a  proper  name.  But  filius  jemini  represent, 
the  Hebrew,  ben  yemini,  Benjaminite,  and  Chusi,  therefore,  must  be 
the  name  of  an  individual.  The  Massoretic  text  reads  Kush,  but  the 
Greek  reading  Chusi  (= Hebrew  Kushi)  is  to  be  preferred.  Chusi  is 
probably  to  be  connected  with  the  Kushi  of  II  Kings,  xviii.  21-23, 
31-32  (though  the  Kushi  of  that  context  is  not  called  a  Benjaminite). 
In  his  Commentarioli  in  psalmos  (Anecdota  Maredsolana,  3,  1,  p.  18) 
Jerome  says  :  Sciendum  itaque  Chusi  interpretari  Aethiopem,  et  totum 
psalmum  contra  Satd  esse  conscriptum.  .  .  .  quem  Aethiopem  vocat 
propter  sanguinarios  et  tetros  et  crudeles  mores.  The  only  support  of 
this  view  is  the  fact  that  Saul  was  a  ben  ye mini,  a  Benjaminite. 

2.  In  te  speravi,  Hebrew  ;  ‘  in  Thee  do  I  seek  refuge/ 

3.  The  enemy  is  likened  to  a  ravening  lion.  Rapiat,  Hebrew, 
‘  rend/  animam  meam,  me. 

4.  5.  Istud  is  the  charge.  The  Hebrew  suggests  that  one  charge 
was  in  grati tude  towards  kindly  and  helpful  friends — ■*  If  I  have 
requited  with  evil  those  who  lived  at  peace  with  me/  The  clause 
that  folio  ws,  runs  in  Hebrew  :  “In  fact  I  rescued  those  who  were 
unreasonably  hostile  towards  me/  So  far  was  the  psalmist  from 
injuring  his  friends,  that  he  actually  went  out  of  his  way  to  assist 
his  foes.  The  Latin  puts  a  different  complexion  on  the  text.  Here 
the  charge  seems  to  be,  either  that  the  poet  has  requited  evil  for  evil, 
or,  that  he  has  requited  kindness  (retribuentibus^  dantibus)  withinjury. 

A  b  inimicis  inanis,  either,  ‘  f ali  away  hopeless  before  his  foes  ’ ;  or, 

*  fail  hopelessly  through  the  action  of  his  foes/ 

6.  Anima,  vita,  and  gloria  are  practically  synonymous.  In  terra, 
for  classical,  in  terram. 

7.  But,  sin  ce  he  is  innocent,  the  Lord  should  justify  him  before  ali. 

Exaltare  in  finibus,  literally,  ‘  Show  Thy  power  in  the  territories 

of  my  foes/  But  fines  may,  perhaps,  be  taken  in  connection  with 
the  Hebrew  ebhrah  as — ‘  passing  beyond/  ‘  excess/  Jerome  refers 
it  directly,  with  Hebrew,  to  God  :  Elevare  indignans  super  hostes  meos. 

In  prcecepto,  Hebrew  ‘  trial/  the  trial  which  the  Lord  has  ordered 
for  ali,  the  world-judgment.  The  Vulgate  might  be  rendered  : 

*  Because  of  the  Trial  which  Thou  hast  commanded/  The  Hebrew 
says  :  ‘  Because  Thou  hast  ordered  a  Trial/ 

8.  Description  of  the  great  assize. 

Propter  hanc  ;  better,  super  hanc.  The  Lord  is  prayed  to  take 
His  throne  as  ruler  and  as  Judge  of  the  nations.  The  throne  would 
be  set  in  sight  of  ali,  and,  therefore,  above  the 'gathering. 

9.  Super  me,  Hebrew  *  alai’  (which  is)  in  me.  The  verse  might 
be  also  rendered  thus  :  ‘  The  Lord  judgeth  the  nations  :  Procure 
for  me  justice,  O  Lord  !  According  to  my  justice,  and  my  innocence, 
[let  it  be  done]  to  me/  Some  verb  like  ya‘abhor  (Job  xiii.  13)  would, 
in  this  view,  have  to  be  understood. 


A  CRY  FOR  HELP 


23 


10.  Diriges,  establish,  confirm.  Cf.  xxxvi.  23,  Apud  Dominum 
gressus  hominis  dirigentur  ;  xxxix.  3,  Direxit  gressus  meas  ;  lxxvii.  8, 
quae  non  direxit  cor  suum  ;  ci.  29,  Semen  eorum  in  cBternum  dirigetur. 
The  general  sense  is,  *  make  stable/  ‘  secure/ 

11.  Justum  adjutorium,  such  help  as  is  efficacious,  and  such  as 
one  may  reasonably  expect. 

12.  The  question  implies  that  God  is  not  angry  every  day,  or, 
all  the  time.  The  Hebrew  says  that  God  is  angry  (or  threatens) 
every  day.  Both  texts  express  a  truth. 

13.  If  the  psalmisfs  enemies  will  not  tum  to  God,  God  is  ready 
with  His  weapons  to  destroy  them. 

14.  Vasa  mortis,  Hebrew,  ‘  instruments  of  death/ 

Ardentibus— ardentes.  Cf.  Ephes,  vi.  16. 

15.  The  enemy  of  God  and  of  the  psalmist  is  pregnant  with  the 
mali  ce  which  he  has  devised. 

16.  The  picture  is  taken  from  the  sportsman’s  life.  Pits  were 
dug  to  serve  as  traps  for  the  wild  beasts. 

17.  The  picture  is  here  that  of  a  man  who  awkwardly  throws  a 
missile  so  that  it  falis  back  on  himself. 

The  dolor  is  the  mischief  which  he  has  planned  for  others. 

18.  Altissimus  is  one  of  God’s  tities  ;  it  does  not  serve  here 
merely  as  an  attribute  of  Dominus. 


PSALM  VIII 


MAN’S  LITTLENESS  AND  GREATNESS 

HE  glory  of  God,  as  shown  forth  in  nature  and  in  man,  is  the 
theme  of  this  poem.  God’s  wondrous  greatness  can  every- 
where  be  seen.  It  is  reflected  especially  in  the  heavens. 
When  it  is  hymned  by  infant  lips  it  disarms  the  enemies  of 
God.  Over  against  the  great  glory  of  God,  man  appears  so  trifling 
that  it  is  strange  that  God  should  give  any  thought  to  him.  Yet 
God  has  taken  such  deep  interest  in  him,  that  He  has  given  him  a 
greatness  far  above  that  of  nature,  a  greatness  only  less  than  divine. 
This  kindness  of  God  towards  man  only  serves  to  show  forth  more 
fully  His  greatness.  The  poem  ends  with  the  same  awestruck  con- 
fession  of  Gods  glory  with  which  it  began. 

The  song  seems  to  be  a  song  of  the  vintage  season.  The  glory 
of  the  nightly  heavens  is  so  emphasised  that  we  may,  perhaps,  suppose 
that  it  was  sung  in  the  night  time.  Possibly  it  was  sung  during  a 
night-watch  in  the  Temple  during  the  feast  of  Tabernacles.  It  may 
have  been  composed  by  David  as  a  meditation  on  the  glory  of  God, 
without  any  reference  to  liturgical  use.  The  appropriation  to  a 
vintage-festival,  like  Tabernacles,  implied  in  Pro  torcularibus,  is  not 
necessarily  Davidic. 

« 

i.  In  finem  pro  torcularibus, 

Psalmus  David. 


2.  Domine  Dominus  noster, 
quam  admirabile  est  nomen  tu¬ 
um  in  universa  terra  ! 

Quoniam  elevata  est  magni¬ 
ficentia  tua,  super  coelos. 

3.  Ex  ore  infantium  et  la¬ 
ctentium  perfecisti  laudem  pro¬ 
pter  inimicos  tuos,  ut  destruas 
inimicum  et  ultorem. 


4.  Quoniam  videbo  coelos 
tuos,  opera  digitorum  tuorum  : 
lunam  et  stellas,  quae  tu  fundasti. 

5.  Quid  est  homo,  quod  me¬ 
mor  es  ejus  ?  aut  filius  hominis, 
quoniam  visitas  eum  ? 


1.  For  the  choir-leader.  For  the  wine 

presses.  A  Psalm  of  David. 

(Choir)  : 

2.  O  Lord,  our  Lord, 

How  wonderful  is  Thy  name 
In  all  the  earth  ! 

For  Thy  glory  is  exalted  above  the 
heavens. 


3.  From  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings 
Thou  hast  set  up  praise,  because  of 
Thy  foes 

That  Thou  mightest  destroy  (Thy)  enemy 
and  vengeful  foe. 


(Single  voice)  : 

4.  If  I  look  on  Thy  heavens 
The  work  of  Thy  hands, 

And  on  the  moon  and  the  stars  which 
Thou  hast  made. — 

5.  What  is  man  that  Thou  shouldst  remem- 

ber  him  ? 

Or  the  son  of  man  that  Thou  shouldst 
visit  him  ? 


24 


MAN’S  LITTLENESS  AND  GREATNESS  25 


6.  Minuisti  eum  paulo  minus  6. 
ab  Angelis,  gloria  et  honore 
coronasti  eum  : 

7.  Et  constituisti  eum  super  7. 
opera  manuum  tuarum. 

8.  Omnia  subjecisti  sub  pedi-  8. 
bus  ejus, 

Oves  et  boves  universas  :  in¬ 
super  et  pecora  campi. 

9.  Volucres  coeli,  et  pisces  9. 
maris,  qui  perambulant  semitas 
maris. 


10.  Domine  Dominus  noster, 
quam  admirabile  est  nomen  tu¬ 
um  in  universa  terra  ! 


And  (yet)  Thou  hast  set  him  but  a  little 
below  the  angels  : 

With  glory  and  with  honour  Thou  hast 
encompassed  him  ; 

And  Thou  hast  placed  him  over  the  works 
of  Thy  hands. 

All  things  hast  Thou  put  beneath  his 
feet. — 


Sheep,  and  cattle — all  of  them, 

And  the  wild  beasts  too, 

The  birds  of  heaven,  and  the  fishes  of 
the  sea 

Which  tra verse  the  paths  of  the  sea. 


(Choir)  : 

10  O  Lord,  our  Lord  ! 

How  wonderful  is  Thy  name 
In  all  the  earth  ! 


1.  Pro  torcularibus.  Cf.  Ps.  lxxx  and  lxxxiii.  The  Hebrew 
suggests  here  rather  a  reference  to  a  musical  instrument.  The  Patristic 
commentators  attached  very  wonderful  mystic  meanings  to  the  wine- 
presses.  St.  Augustine,  for  instance,  explains  them  as  the  Church,  or 
the  Word  of  God,  or  martyrdom. 

2.  Domine  Dominus  noster  is  the  rendering  of  ‘  Yahweh  Our  Lord  !  * 
‘  Nomen  *  is  equi  valent  to  majesty,  being. 

3.  The  heavens  are  the  garment  of  God  [cf.  Ps.  ciii.  1-2),  and 
in  the  heavens  all  eyes  can  see  revealed  His  glory  and  majesty. 

Perfecisti,  produced,  called  into  being,  established.  The  lisping 
of  babes,  that  behold  thq  wonders  of  God's  world,  is  a  bulwark  set 
up  against  scoffers  and  non-believers  (Matt.  xi.  16).  The  Hebrew 
text  is,  however,  somewhat  uncertain  ;  and  the  idea  may  be  that 
God  has  set  up  the  heavens  as  a  stronghold  against  His  foes. 

4.  Quoniam  ought  to  be  cum.  The  Latin  here  simply  reproduces 
the  Greek.  The  antiphonal  arrangement  suggested  in  the  transla- 
tion  would  explain  the  transition  to  first  person  singular.  The 
general  choir  would  sing  verses  1-3  and  10  ;  the  remainder  would  be 
sung  by  a  single  voice. 

5.  The  filius  hominis  is  obviously  parallel  to  homo,  and  both  seem 
to  have  the  same  meaning.  The  application  of  verses  6  and  7  to 
Christ  in  Hebrews  ii.  6-9  has  led  to  the  view  that  the  ‘  Son  of  Man  ' 
is  here  to  be  understood  in  a  Messianic  sense  {cf.  also  I  Cor.  xv.  25-28).. 
It  seems,  however,  to  be  nothing  more  than  the  poetical  equivalent 
or  parallel,  of  ‘  man.’ 

Visitas,  in  the  sense  of  ‘  taking  interest  in,’  ‘  taking  thought  for/ 
Sometimes  the  word  suggests  unfriendly  interest,  punishment. 

6.  The  immediate  reference  is  to  the  dignity  of  man,  of  human 
nature  geneifilly.  The  Hebrew  text  speaks  of  *  God  ’ — not  of  angels  : 


26 


THE  PSALMS 


‘  Thou  hast  made  him  to  lack  but  little  of  a  God/  The  translation 
‘  angels  '  represents,  no  doubt,  the  Jewish  exegesis  of  the  age  of  the 
Greek  translators.  The  “  ab  ”  expresses  comparison,  according  to 
the  Hebrew  idiom.  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (ii.  6)  the  Greek 
reading  is  followed,  and  fipaxv  tl  [minus)  is  taken  in  a  temporal 
sense,  '  for  a  brief  period/  i.e.  the  lifetime  of  Jesus  on  earth. 

Gloria  and  honor  are  generally  used  of  God's  attributes.  The 
whole  verse  repeats  the  thought  of  Gen.  i.,  that  man  is  made  in  the 
image  of  God.  In  this  is  shown  chiefly  the  wonderful  interest 
(• visitatio )  which  God  takes  in  man. 

7.  Man's  control  over  nature  is  also  to  be  regarded  as  part  of  his 
close  likeness  to  God.  C/.  I  Cor.  xv.  26  :  Omnia  enim  subjecit  sub 
pedibus  ejus,  where  the  Messianic  reference  of  this  verse  is  implied. 
(cf.  Ephes.  i.  22).  What  is  true  of  man,  generally,  must  be  true,  in 
the  deepest  and  highest  sense,  of  the  man  who  sums  up  ali  things 
in  Himself.  The  verses  7-9  look  like  a  poetic  meditation  on  Gen.  i. 
26,  28.  The  pecora  campi  are  the  wild  beasts,  as  distinguished  from 
the  domestic  animals. 

9.  Qui  perambulant  semitas  maris  is,  in  Hebrew,  a  new  class  of 
beings,  *  everything  that  doth  traverse  the  paths  of  the  sea/  including 
the  cete  illa  grandia  of  Gen.  i.  21. 

10.  The  poem  is  rounded  off  with  the  expression  of  wonder  at  God's 
greatness  with  which  it  began. 


PSALM  IX 


A  SONG  OF  THANKS  FOR  THE  OVER- 
THROW  OF  ENEMIES 


THE  first  part  of  this  psalm  (verses  2-21)  is  a  song  of  thanks- 
giving  for  the  rescue  of  Israel  from  foreign  enemies  ;  the 
second  part  (22-39 )  is  a  prayer  for  protection  against  troubles 
which  ha  ve  arisen  within  the  Hebre  w  State., 

Part  I.  The  Lord  has  held  judgment  over  the  heathen  strangers. 
He  has  reduced  their  cities  to  ruins,  and  blotted  out  their  name  for 
e  ver.  Israel,  avenged  and  victorious,  sings  glad  songs  of  praise  and 
thanks  in  Jerusalem.  The  heathens  ha  ve  met  with  that  same  fate 
which  they  had  planned  for  Sion.  The  first  part  ends  with  a  strong 
appeal  to  the  Lord  to  set  a  masterful  ruler  over  the  heathens  that 
they  may  realise  that  they  are  but  mere  men. 

Part  II  begins  with  a  complaint  that  the  Lord  is  not  helping  in 
the  hour  of  need.  He  seems  to  stand  afar  off,  and  to  give  no  thought 
to  His  friends.  The  friends  of  the  Lord  are  here  the  poor  and  the 
God-fearing,  who  are  pursued  and  oppressed  by  godless  Israelites. 
The  oppression  of  the  weaker  Israelites  by  the  wealthy  and  insolent 
and  God-defying  aristocrats  is  vividly  described.  The  psalmist 
prays  to  God,  as  the  sole  refuge  of  the  weak  and  lowly,  to  break  the 
power  of  their  ruthless  oppressors. 

The  concluding  verses  (37-39)  serve  as  a  conclusion  to  both  parts  of 
the  psalm.  The  foreign  enemies  ha  ve  been  ruined,  and  the  oppressors 
within  Israel  ha  ve  learned  the  lesson  that  man  is  but  man,  and  that 
God  is  the  shield  of  the  weak  and  oppressed.  The  two  parts  of  the 
poem  end  with  the  same  thought. 

In  this  analysis  it  is  assumed  that  the  two  parts  constitute  a 
single  poem.  The  Hebrew  text  regards  them  as  two  separate  poems. 
The  combined  arran gement  is,  however,  supported  by  certain  features 
of  the  Hebrew  text  itself.  This  psalm  is  one  of  the  alphabetical 
psalms,  and  the  alphabetical  structure  is  continued  through  the  two 
parts.  The  two  parts  form  a  single  psalm  in  the  Greek  versions,  and 
in  Jerome’s  version.  The  Hebrew  text  of  the  second  part  (Ps.  x. 
Hebrew)  has  no  title — as  if  it  had  been  set  in  isolation  by  some 
accident.  As  we  see,  the  two  parts,  besides  being  connected  by  the 
acrostic  arrangement,  end  similarly,  and  the  situation  of  Part  I  is 
implied  in  the  conclusion  of  Part  II.  The  Vulgate  arrangement  of 
the  two  partsr  as  one  poem  is,  therefore,  to  be  retained.  Since, 
however,  Part  II  forms  a  separate  psalm  in  the  Hebrew  text,  the 

27 


28 


THE  PSALMS 


Vulgate  numbering  of  the  psalms  will  henceforth,  for  the  most  part, 
be  different  from  that  of  the  Massoretic  text  (and  therefore  also,  of 
the  Revised  Version). 

The  occasion  of  this  poem  cannot  be  determined.  David  had 
many  experiences  of  victories  abroad  and  troubles  at  home.  Yet  it  is 
very  difficult  to  find  in  any  known  incidents  of  his  reign  a  background 
for  the  ninth  Psalm.  The  tendency  of  many  modern  commentators 
is  to  parallel  Part  I  with  the  prophecy  of  Nahum,  and  to  explain  the 
defeat  of  the  heathen  as  referring  to  the  fall  of  Niniveh.  More  radical 
critics  would  find  the  inspiration  for  the  two  parts  in  events  of  the 
Maccabean  period.  If  we  set  aside  the  Vulgate  ascription  of  the 
psalm  to  David,  we  shall  have  nothing  to  guide  us  in  placing  the 
poem  but  mere  subjectivism.  The  words  of  the  title  :  Pro  occultis 
filii  may  point  back  to  a  consonantal  Hebrew  text  which  could  be 
translated,  ‘  According  to  the  death  of  the  Son  ’• — but  this  again, 
would  give  us  no  help  in  discovering  the  historical  context  of  the 
psalm. 


i.  In  finem  pro  occultis  filii, 
Psalmus  David. 


i.  For  the  choir-leader.  According  to  .  . 
a  psalm  of  David. 


Part  I 


2.  Confitebor  tibi  Domini  in  2. 
toto  corde  meo  :  narrabo  omnia 
mirabilia  tua. 

3.  Laetabor  et  exsultabo  in  3. 

te  :  psallam  nomini  tuo  Altis¬ 
sime, 

4.  In  convertendo  inimicum  4. 

meum  retrorsum  :  infirmabun¬ 
tur,  et  peribunt  a  facie  tua. 


5.  Quoniam  fecisti  judicium 
meum  et  causam  meam  :  sedi¬ 
sti  super  thronum  qui  judicas 
justitiam. 

6.  Increpasti  Gentes,  et  per¬ 
iit  impius  :  nomen  eorum  delesti 
in  aeternum,  et  in  saeculum 
saeculi. 

7.  Inimici  defecerunt  frameae 
in  finem  :  et  civitates  eorum 
destruxisti. 

Periit  memoria  eorum  cum 
sonitu  : 


I  praise  Thee,  O  Lord,  with  my  whole 
heart : 

I  publish  ali  Thy  wondrous  deeds. 

I  exuit  and  rejoice  in  Thee  ; 

I  hymn  Thy  name,  Most  High. 

Because  my  enemy  falleth  back, 

And  they  [my  foes]  grow  powerless, 
and  come  to  naught  before  Thee. 


5.  For  Thou  dost  conduct  my  trial  and  my 

case  : 

Thou  dost  sit  on  the  throne  judging 
justly  ; 

6.  Thou  dost  chide  the  nations  and  the  god- 

less  ceases  to  be. 

Their  name  Thou  dost  blot  out  for  ever 
and  aye. 

7.  The  swords  of  the  foe  have  been  alto- 

gether  destroyed  ; 

And  their  cities  Thou  hast  over- 
whelmed . 

The  memory  of  them  is  vanished  with 
[the  speed  of]  a  [sudden]  crash. 


8.  Et  Dominus  in  aeternum 
permanet. 

Paravit  in  judicio  thronum 
suum  : 


8.  But  the  Lord  remaineth  for  ever. 

He  hath  set  up  His  throne  for  holding 
trial : 


A  SONG  OF  THANKS 


29 


9.  Et  ipse  judicabit  orbem  9. 
terrae  in  aequitate,  judicabit  po¬ 
pulos  in  justitia. 

10.  Et  factus  est  Dominus  re-  10. 
fugium  pauperi :  adjutor  in 
opportunitatibus,  in  tribula¬ 
tione. 

11.  Et  sperent  in  te  qui  no-  11. 
verunt  nomen  tuum  :  quoniam 

non  dereliquisti  quaerentes  te 
Domine. 


And  He  doth  judge  the  world  with  fair- 
ness, 

And  He  doth  judge  the  peoples  with 
justice. 

The  Lord  is  a  refuge  to  the  poor  ; 

He  is  a  helper  in  good  time,  in  trial. 

They  that  know  Thy  name  shall  trust  in 
Thee, 

For  Thou  dost  not  abandon  those  who 
seek  Thee,  O  Lord. 


12.  Psallite  Domino,  qui  habi-  12. 
tat  in  Sion  :  annuntiate  inter 
Gentes  studia  ejus  : 

13.  Quoniam  requirens  san-  13. 
guinem  eorum  recordatus  est : 

non  est  oblitus  clamorem  pau¬ 
perum. 


Hymn  the  Lord  who  dwelleth  on  Sion  ; 
Publish  among  the  nations  His  deeds  ; 

For  as  an  avenger  of  blood  He  is  mindful 
of  them  (i. e.  the  poor)  : 

He  doth  not  forget  the  cry  of  need  of 
the  poor. 


14.  Miserere  mei  Domine  : 
vide  humilitatem  meam  de 
inimicis  meis. 

15.  Qui  exaltas  me  de  portis 
mortis,  ut  annuntiem  omnes 
laudationes  tuas  in  portis  filiae 
Sion. 


16.  Exsultabo  in  salutari  tuo  : 
infixae  sunt  Gentes  in  interitu, 
quem  fecerunt. 

In  laqueo  isto,  quem  abs¬ 
conderunt,  comprehensus  est 
pes  eorum. 

17.  Cognoscetur  Dominus  ju¬ 
dicia  faciens  :  in  operibus  ma¬ 
nuum  suarum  comprehensus  est 
peccator. 

18.  Convertantur  peccatores 
in  infernum,  omnes  Gentes  quae 
obliviscuntur  Deum. 

19.  Quoniam  non  in  finem  ob¬ 
livio  erit  pauperis  :  patientia 
pauperum  non  peribit  in  finem. 


14.  Pity  me,  O  Lord  :  behold  my  humiliation 

at  the  hands  of  my  foes, — 

15.  Thou  who  dost  raise  me  out  of  the  gates 

of  death, 

So  that  I  may  recount  ali  Thy  glorious 
deeds 

In  the  gates  of  the  daughter  of  Sion. 

16.  I  rejoice  because  of  Thy  help. 
Caught  are  the  nations  in  the  destruction 

which  they  contrived  : 

In  the  net  which  they  hid,  their  own 
foot  is  snared. 

17.  The  Lord  is  made  known  by  His  practice 

of  justice, 

But  the  sinner  is  enmeshed  in  the 
works  of  his  own  hands. 

18.  Sinners  shall  be  cast  into  the  under- 

world — 

All  the  nations  who  give  no  thought  to 
God. 

19.  But  not  altogether  will  the  poor  be  for- 

gotten  : 

The  enduring  hope  of  the  poor  will  not 
be  always  frustra ted. 


20.  Exsurge  Domine,  non-  20. 

confortetur  homo  :  judicentur 
Gentes  in  conspectu  tuo. 

21.  Constitue  Domine  legis-  21. 

latorem  super  eos  :  ut  sciant 
Gentes  quoniam  homines  sunt. 


Arise,  O  Lord  ;  let  no  man  be  presump- 
tuous ; 

Let  the  nations  be  brought  to  trial 
before  Thee. 

Appoint,  O  Lord,  a  lawgiver  over  them, 
That  the  nations  may  know  that  they 
are  but  men. 


3° 


THE  PSALMS 


Part  II 

22.  Why  dost  Thou  keep  Thyself  far  off,  O 

Lord  ? 

Why  dost  Thou  suffer  the  right  moment 
to  pass,  in  season  of  need  ? 

23.  While  the  godless  is  proud,  the  poor  man 

is  consumed  (with  care)  ; 

Let  them  (the  godless)  be  caught  by  the 
pians  which  they  devise. 

24.  For  the  sinner  boasts  of  his  lusts, 

And  the  godless  one  is  loud  in  his  own 
praise. 

25.  The  sinner  embittereth  the  Lord. 

In  the  abundance  of  his  contempt  [he 
saith]  “  He  maketh  no  inquiry.” 

26.  There  is  no  God  before  his  eyes. 

His  ways  are  always  shameful : 


22.  Ut  quid  Domine  recessisti 
longe,  despicis  in  opportunitati¬ 
bus,  in  tribulatione  ? 

23.  Dum  superbit  impius,  in¬ 
cenditur  pauper  :  comprehen¬ 
duntur  in  consiliis  quibus  cogi¬ 
tant. 

24.  Quoniam  laudatur  pecca¬ 
tor  in  desideriis  animae  suae  :  et 
iniquus  benedicitur. 

25.  Exacerbavit  Dominum 
peccator,  secundum  multitudi¬ 
nem  irae  suae  non  quaeret. 

26.  Non  est  Deus  in  conspectu 
ejus  :  inquinatae  sunt  viae  illius 
in  omni  tempore. 

Auferuntur  judicia  tua  a  facie 
ejus  :  omnium  inimicorum  suo¬ 
rum  dominabitur. 

27.  Dixit  enim  in  corde  suo  : 
Non  movebor  a  generatione  in 
generationem  sine  malo. 


Thy  laws  are  put  away  from  before  him 
He  lords  it  over  all  his  enemies. 


27.  He  thinketh  :  "  I  shall  not  be  shaken  ”  ; 
For  all  time  I  (shall  be)  free  from  mis- 
fortune.” 


28.  Cujus  maledictione  os  ple¬ 
num  est,  et  amaritudine,  et  do¬ 
lo  :  sub  lingua  ejus  labor  et 
dolor. 

29.  Sedet  in  insidiis  cum  divi¬ 
tibus  in  occultis,  ut  interficiat 
innocentem. 

30.  Oculi  ejus  in  pauperem 
respiciunt  :  insidiatur  in  ab¬ 
scondito,  quasi  leo  in  spelunca 
sua. 

Insidiatur  ut  rapiat  pauperem, 
rapere  pauperem,  dum  attrahit 
eum. 

&  31.  In  laqueo  suo  humiliabit 
eum  :  inclinabit  se,  et  cadet, 
cum  dominatus  fuerit  pauperum. 


28.  His  mouth  is  full  of  cursing,  and  taunting, 

and  treachery  ; 

Beneath  his  tongue  are  toil  and 
mischief. 

29.  He  sits  in  ambush  with  the  rich, 

That  he  may  slay  the  innocent  in  the 
darkness. 

30.  His  eyes  watch  for  the  poor. 

He  lies  in  ambush  in  hidden  places — like 
a  lion  in  his  lair  : 

He  lies  in  ambush  to  seize  the  poor. 

He  seizes  (him)  and  drags  him  along. 

31.  With  his  noose  he  brings  him  down  : 

He  stoopeth  down,  and  lieth  (on  the 
ground  ?)  when  he  has  mastered  the 
poor. 


32.  Dixit  enim  in  corde  suo  :  32.  He  thinketh  :  “  God  doth  forget : 

Oblitus  est  Deus,  avertit  faciem  He  turneth  away  His  face  that  He  may 

suam  ne  videat  in  finem.  see  nothing  whatsoever.” 


33.  Exsurge  Domine  Deus,  33. 
exaltetur  manus  tua  :  ne  ob¬ 
liviscaris  pauperum. 

34.  Propter  quid  irritavit  im-  34. 
pius  Deum  ?  dixit  enim  in  corde 

suo  :  Non  requiret. 

35.  Vides  quoniam  tu  labo-  35. 
rem  et  dolorem  consideras  :  ut 
tradas  eos  in  manus  tuas. 

Tibi  derelictus  est  pauper; 
orphano  tu  eris  adjutor. 


Anse,  O  Lord  God  !  Let  Thy  hand  be 
raised. 

Forget  not  the  poor. 

Why  doth  the  godless  embitter  God  ? 

He  thinketh  :  “  He  will  ask  no 

questions.” 

Thou  seest  (this),  for  Thou  lookest  on 
labour  and  pain 

That  Thou  mayest  take  them  into 
Thine  own  care. 

To  Thee  the  poor  man  is  left, 

For  the  orphan  Thou  art  the  Protector 


A  SONG  OF  THANKS 


31 


36.  Contere  brachium  pecca-  36. 
toris  et  maligni  :  quaeretur  pec¬ 
catum  illius,  et  non  invenietur. 


Shatter,  Thou,  the  arm  of  the  sinner  and 
the  evil  -doer  : 

His  sin  will  be  sought,  but  it  will  not 
be  found. 


37.  Dominus  regnabit  in  aeter¬ 
num,  et  in  saeculum  saeculi  :  peri¬ 
bitis  Gentes  de  terra  illius. 

38.  Desiderium  pauperum  ex¬ 
audivit  Dominus  :  praeparatio¬ 
nem  cordis  eorum  audivit  auris 
tua. 

39.  Judicare  pupillo  et  humili, 
ut  non  apponat  ultra  magnifi¬ 
care  se  homo  super  terram. 


37.  The  Lord  will  be  King  for  ever  and  ever. 

The  natio  ns  will  come  to  naught,  far 
away  from  His  land. 

38.  The  Lord  doth  listen  to  the  desire  of  the 

poor  : 

Thine  ear  doth  hear  the  prayer  of  their 
heart, 

39.  To  do  justice  to  the  orphan  and  the 

oppressed, 

So  that  mere  man  may  no  more  proudly 
exalt  himself  on  earth. 


1.  Pro  occultis  filii  would  represent  a  Hebrew  ‘  al  'alumoth  labben. 
The  Masoretic  text  first  omits  the  ‘al  and  reads,  ‘al  muth  labben. 
Other  groupings  of  the  Hebrew  consonants  are  possible  also.1 
Perhaps  we  have  here  the  name  of  the  melody  to  which  the  psalm 
was  to  be  sung — ‘  Death  to  the  Son/  or  ‘  Death  makes  pale/  etc. 
(The  Fathers  interpret  the  occulta  filii  as  the  mysteries  of  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God.) 

2.  Confitebor  is  equivalent  to  laudabo.  Narrabo,  Hebrew  :  *  Let 
me  recount/ 

3.  In  te,  ‘  because  of  Thee/ 

4.  In  convertendo  inimicum  is  an  attempt  to  reproduce  the  Greek 
infinitive  with  article.  It  appears  in  a  stili  more  un-Latin  form  in 
Ps.  cxxv.  1  :  In  convertendo  Dominus  captivitatem  Sion,  and  ci.  23, 
In  conveniendo  populus  in  unum. 

Infirmabuntur  and  peribunt  are  not  necessarily  to  be  understood  of 
the  future.  Jerome  has  :  cum  ceciderint,  corruerint,  perierint. 

5.  Judicium  et  causam  neam ;  Hebrew  :  ‘  My  verdict  and  my 
trial/  The  sense  seems  to  be  :  ‘  Thou  hast  undertaken  the  defence 
of  my  case/  The  ‘  throne  ’  is  the  judge’s  seat  ;  judicas  justitiam, 
Hebrew  idiom  for  judicas  juste  (cf.  judicatis  iniquitatem,  Ps.  lxxxi.  2). 

6.  The  gentes  are  the  heathen  peoples  who  lived  across  the  borders 
of  Palestine. 

7.  Inimici  is  genitive.  Framea  is  used  in  Vulgate  for  sword. 
Defecerunt,  ‘  perished/  ‘  were  destroyed.’  In  finem,  ‘  for  ever/  or, 
‘  completely/  The  Hebrew  text  here  implied  is  the  same  as  the 
Massoretic  as  far  as  the  consonants  are  concerned.  The  Massoretes 
read,  however  :  ‘  The  enemy  are  vanished — ruins  for  ever/ 

Cum  sonitu  :  either,  *  with  a  great  and  crashing  overthrow/  or* 
‘  with  the  §uddenness  of  a  crash/  The  Hebrew  hemmah  (‘  they 
themselves  ')  was  read  by  the  Greek  translators  as  some  form  of  the 
verb  hamah.  Theodoret  says  there  is  here  a  metaphor  taken  from 


1  Schlogl  reads  '  Alemeth — a  place-name,  instead  of  ‘alrnuth. 


32 


THE  PSALMS 


the  fall  of  houses  during  an  earthquake.  The  Hebrew  text  is  not  here 
very  reliable.  Jerome  translates  :  completae  sunt  solitudines  in  finem, 
et  civitates  subvertisti  ;  periit  memoria  eorum  cum  ipsis. 

8.  In  judicio,  for  the  purpose  of  judging,  or  holding  trial. 

io.  Pauperi,  the  oppressed,  in  general. 

In  opportunitatibus  in  tribulatione  ;  Hebrew  :  *  in  seasons  of  dis¬ 
tress/  The  Greek  has  taken  Hebrew,  bassarah  (distress)  as  besarah 
(in  distress). 

12.  There  is  a  striking  parallelism  between  verses  12-17  and 
verses  2-7.  Studia,  all  that  He  does  for  His  people.  Jerome  has 
cogitationes  ejus. 

13.  Requirens  sanguinem,  an  avenger  of  blood  (unjustly  shed). 
The  ‘  poor  *  ;  Hebrew,  either,  ‘  the  oppressed/  or,  ‘  the  meek/ 

14.  Hebrew  :  ‘  The  Lord  hath  been  gracious  to  me  ;  and  hath 
beheld  (so,  probably)  my  oppression  at  the  hand  of  those  who  hate 
me/ 

15.  ‘  He  raiseth  me  up  into  safety  from  the  gates  of  death/  i.  e. 
rescued  me  when  death  threatened.  God  saved  the  singer  from 
death  so  that  he  might  live  to  praise  his  Helper  publicly  in  (the 
gates  of)  Sion. 

16.  In  salutari  tuo,  1  the  help  which  Thou  givest/ 

Infixce,  etc.  The  first  picture  is  suggested  by  the  method  of 
trapping  big  game  in  pits,  into  which  the  wild  animals  walked 
unawares,  and  from  which  they  could  not  climb  out.  The  second 
picture  is  suggested  by  the  snaring  of  game. 

Interitus  ;  Hebrew,  ‘  pit  '  ;  Jerome,  fovea. 

To  ‘  hide  *  snares  is  a  Hebrew  expression. 

18.  Convertantur,  they  will  be  sent  back,  or  they  will  be  given  up, 
to  Sheol — the  world  of  the  dead.  The  Hebrew  verb  shubh,  here 
translated  converti,  does  not  necessarily  mean  to  retum.  It  can 
mean,  as  here,  to  make  for  one’s  own  due  place. 

19.  The  enduring  hope  {expectatio)  of  the  lowly  and  oppressed 
will  not  be  always  disappointed. 

20.  God  is  called  upon  to  come  forward,  and  show  His  power 
against  the  overweening  self-confidence  of  men.  It  is  a  prayer  for 
the  protection  of  Israel  against  the  heathen. 

21.  Set  a  ‘  master  *  over  them,  corresponding  to  a  Hebrew,  moreh  ; 
Jerome  has  terrorem,  reading  Hebrew  mora’. 

22.  Here  begins  the  ioth  Psalm  in  the  Massoretic  text. 

God  was  formerly  e  ver  ready  with  His  help,  but  now  He 
seems  to  be  unwilling  to  give  assistance.  He  stands  afar  off,  as 
if  He  did  not  care. 

Despicis,  ‘  Thou  pretendest  not  to  notice/  Hebrew :  ‘  Thou 

dost  hide  Thyself/ 

In  opportunitatibus,  etc.,  cf.  v.  10  ;  Jerome  :  in  temporibus  augustiae. 

23.  Dum  superbit,  ‘  because  of  the  pride/  etc.  Incenditur  :  the 


A  SONG  OF  THANKS 


33 

Hebrew  suggests  the  idea  of  a  pursuit  of  the  lowly  which  brings 
the  latter  to  a  fever  heat. 

24.  Laudatur  and  benedicitur  may  be  taken  here  in  a  media 
sense.  The  Hebrew  is  here  uncertain  in  meaning. 

25.  The  Hebrew  makes  the  sense  ciear  :  in  his  arrogance  (Hebrew, 
‘  the  loftiness  of  his  nostrils  * :  ’appo  =  his  anger  and  his  pride)  the 
godless  says  :  ‘  He  (i. e.  God)  will  make  no  inquiry  [into  my  affairs]. 
There  is  no  God/  Then  the  psalmi  st  adds  :  ‘  Such  are  ali  his 
thoughts/  “  Non  quceret  ”  :  “  Non  est  Deus  ”  are  words  of  the 
godless.  In  conspectu  ejus  is  a  free  rendering  of  ‘  [Such  are]  all 
his  thoughts  (or  plannings)/  The  denial  of  God  here  referred  to, 
is  not  a  denial  of  God's  existence,  but  of  God’s  interest  in  men's 
doings  (Providence). 

26.  Dominabitur .  Translates  a  Hebrew  verb  which  means  pufhng 
out  the  cheeks.  This  gesture  of  contempt  he  displays  to  his  foes. 

27.  Dicere  in  corde,  1  think/  He  is  quite  confident  of  permanent 
good  fortune. 

28.  The  labor  (toil)  and  dolor  (mischief)  are,  of  course,  intended 
for  others. 

29.  The  “  divites  ”  are  the  natural  allies  of  the  godless.  The 
prophetic  literature  of  Israel  contains  many  references  to  the  op- 
pression  of  the  poor  at  the  hands  of  the  aristocracy.  The  Massoretic 
text  does  not  speak  of  the  "  rich  ”  here.  It  reads  :  ‘  He  lies  in 
ambush  in  the  villages/  The  Hebrew  words  for  “  villages  ”  and 
“  rich,”  though  they  are  spelled  very  differently,  resemble  each 
other  somewhat  in  sound. 

It  is  better  to  read  in  occultis  with  interficiat. 

30.  His  eyes  from  his  hiding-place  watch  for  the  approach  of  his 
victim.  He  is  like  a  lion  watching  for  prey.  In  abscondito  corre- 
sponds  to  in  occultis  of  the  preceding  verse.  What  follows  here 
describes  the  seizing  of  the  prey.  Attrahit  expresses  either  the  en- 
ticing  of  the  victim  into  the  snare  set  for  him,  or  the  actual  seizing 
of  him. 

31.  He  pulls  the  victim  down  with  his  noose  :  then  he  stoops 
down,  preparing,  as  a  lion  might,  to  spring  on  his  prey.  It  is  difficult 
to  explain  cadet  of  the  oppressor.  Did  the  Latin  translator  regard  it 
as  describing  a  stage  in  the  seizing  of  his  prey  by  the  oppressor  ? 
Or,  does  it  describe  the  careless  rest  which  the  lion  takes  as  soon  as 
the  resistance  of  his  victim  has  been  overcome  ?  The  Hebrew  seems 
to  take  the  last  clause  of  the  verse  as  a  description  of  the  victim  in 
his  overthrow  :  ‘  The  helpless  one  falis  into  his  power/ 

32.  Hebrew  :  ‘  He  thinks  :  “  God  has  forgotten  :  He  hath  hidden 
His  face  :  He  will  ne  ver  see  (it)  ”  (cf.  verses  25-26). 

33.  It  is  time  for  God  to  show  the  power  of  His  right  hand  in  the 
protection  of  the  oppressed. 

34.  How  can  God  tolerate  the  policy  and  theory  of  the  godless  ? 


3 


34 


THE  PSALMS 


35.  This  is  a  contradi ction  of  the  practical  atheist's  view.  God 
does  see,  and  will  remember.  He  is  interested  in  the  pain  and  trouble 
of  His  friends,  and  will  take  their  case  into  His  hands.  Indeed,  the 
oppressed  have  no  other  hope  or  solace  but  God.  The  orphan  is  a 
type  of  the  helpless  generally. 

36.  When  the  power  of  the  impious  is  broken  he  will  be  able  to 
sin  no  more. 

37.  The  Lord  has  taken  His  seat  as  King  once  more.  This  appears 
from  the  defeat  of  the  godless,  and  the  protection  of  the  poor  and 
helpless.  His  enemies  have  vanished  from  His  land,  i. e.  from  the 
soil  of  Israel  (corresponding  to  the  national  outlook  of  Part  I  of 
poem).  The  next  verse  expresses  the  fulfilment  of  the  prayers  of 
Part  II  of  the  Psalm. 

38.  Prceparatio  cordis,  what  the  heart  has  prepared  or  proposed, 
i. e.  the  desires  or  prayers  of  the  heart. 

39.  God  is  to  give  fair  trial  to  the  lowly  and  weak,  so  that  His 
enemies,  outside  Israel  and  within  it,  may  realise  that  there  is  a 
divine  rule  of  the  world,  and  that  they  are,  after  ali,  mere  men. 
C/.  verse  21.  Thus  the  two  parts  of  the  poem  are  brought  into  a 
unity  by  the  concluding  verse. 


PSALM  X 


TRUST  IN  THE  LORD ! 


IT  is  a  time  of  perii.  The  social  order  is  disturbed,  and  timid 
friends  recommend  the  singer  to  fly  to  the  safety  of  the  hilis. 
But  the  psalmist  is  full  of  trust  in  God.  However  uncertain 
all  things  on  earth  may  become,  the  throne  of  God  is  fixed 
immovably  in  heaven,  and  from  it  God  will  deal  out  justi  ce  to  the 
world.  Mockers  and  sinners  will  be  duly  punished,  and  the  pious 
and  just  will  see  the  friendship  of  God,  and  live  in  the  light  of 
God’s  face. 

Possibly  we  ha  ve  here  an  echo  of  the  troubles  which  straitened 
Israel  in  the  days  of  David  s  wars  with  the  Philistines.  Or,  the  poem 
may  reflect  the  difficulties  of  David  during  his  persecution  by  Saul. 
He  was  often  during  that  time  an  outcast,  hiding,  like  a  frightened 
bird,  in  the  hilis.  But  the  stress  is  here  laid  on  the  chaotic  condition 
of  the  State,  rather  than  on  the  personal  perils  of  a  fugitive  such  as 
David  was  when  he  fled  from  the  court  of  Saul.  The  general  tone 
and  style  of  the  psalm  strongly  remind  one  of  Psalms  iii.  and  iv.,  and, 
from  a  literary  point  of  view,  the  three  psalms  seem  to  have  had  a 
common  origin. 


i.  In  finem,  Psalmus  David.  i. 


2.  In  Domino  confido  :  quo-  2. 

modo  dicitis  animae  meae  : 

Transmigra  in  montem  sicut 
passer  ? 

3.  Quoniam  ecce  peccatores  3. 

intenderunt  arcum,  paraverunt 
sagittas  suas  in  pharetra,  ut 
sagittent  in  obscuro  rectos  corde. 

4.  Quoniam  quae  perfecisti  4. 

destruxerunt :  justus  autem 

quid  fecit  ? 

5.  Dominus  in  templo  sancto 
suo,  Dominus  in  caelo  sedes 
ejus  : 

Oculi  ejus  in  pauperem  respi¬ 
ciunt  palpebrae  ejus  interrogant 
filios  hominum. 


For  the  choir-leader.  A  Psalm  of  David. 


I  trust  in  the  Lord  : 

How  can  ye  say  to  me  : 

“  Fly  like  a  bird  to  the  mountains  ”  ? 

For,  see,  the  sinners  have  stretched  the  bow, 
And  have  put  their  arrows  in  the  quiver, 
To  shoot  in  the  darkness  at  the  upright 
of  heart ! 

For  what  thou  didst  establish  they  destroy* 
But  the  just  man — what  can  he  do  ? 


5.  The  Lord  is  in  His  holy  palace. 

The  Lord  has  His  throne  in  heavert 
His  eyes  look  on  the  poor  ; 

And  His  eyelids  test  the  children  of  men. 


35 


THE  PSALMS 


6.  Dominus  interrogat  justum 
et  impium  :  qui  autem  diligit 
iniquitatem,  odit  animam  suam. 

7.  Pluet  super  peccatores  la¬ 
queos  :  ignis,  et  sulphur,  et 
spiritus  procellarum  pars  calicis 
eorum. 

8.  Quoniam  justus  Dominus, 
et  justitias  dilexit :  aequitatem 
vidit  vultus  ejus. 


6.  The  Lord  testeth  the  just  and  the  sinner  ; 

He  that  loveth  wickedness  hateth  him- 
self. 

7.  He  raineth  snares  down  on  sinners  ; 

Fire,  and  brimstone,  and  storm-wind 
are  the  portion  of  their  cup, 

8.  For  the  Lord  is  just,  and  loveth  just  deeds 

His  countenance  is  turned  unto  justice. 


2.  The  speakers  seem  to  be  pessimistic  friends  of  the  singer  (in 

the  Latin  text).  The  Hebrew  makes  them,  apparently,  speak  mock- 
ingly  :  ‘  Away  to  your  mountain,  small  bird !  ’  The  forest-clad 

hilis  would  be  the  natural  home  and  hiding-place  of  the  bird.  Passer 
is  a  name  for  small  birds  in  general :  Hebrew  sippor.  The  hunters 
(i.e.  the  impious)  are  getting  ready  bow  and  arrow  to  shoot  the 
righteous  :  the  symbol — bird,  is  here  replaced  by  the  thing 
symbolised — the  persecuted  just. 

3.  Pharetra  :  Hebrew,  ‘  string/ 

4.  The  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  If  the  foundations  are  destroyed,  what  can 
the  righteous  do  ?  ’  The  “  foundations  ”  are  “  quce  perfecisti i.e. 
the  laws  which  thy  authority  has  established.  If  all  that  David 
has  done  to  establish  law  and  order  is  overthrown,  what  is  the 
advantage  of  his  further  effort  ?  This  seems  to  be  part  of  the 
st  at  ement  of  the  speakers  of  verse  2. 

5.  This  is  the  confident  reply  of  the  psalmist.  God  is  in  heaven 
as  ruler  of  the  world,  and  justice  must,  therefore,  in  the  end  prevail. 
‘  God's  in  His  heaven  :  alFs  right  with  the  world/ 

In  templo,  in  His  palace,  where  also  stands  His  throne — heaven. 
While  God’s  throne  stands,  truth  must  prevail. 

Palpebrce — parallel  to  oculi.  Why  the  eyelids  ?  Is  it  that  God 
sees  even  when  His  eyes  seem  to  be  closed  ;  or,  is  it  implied  that,  in 
His  close  scrutiny,  God  lowers  somewhat  His  eyelids — as  a  man  does 
when  he  wishes  to  see  an  object  more  closely  ?  But  most  likely 
we  ha  ve  here  equivalence  of  eyes  and  eyelids,  as  elsewhere,  in 
parallelism  :  Cf.  Jer.  ix.  17  :  ‘  That  our  eyes  may  run  down  with 
tears,  and  our  eyelids  gush  out  with  waters/ 

6.  The  Hebrew  reads  :  ‘  His  (i.e.  God's)  soul  hates  him  who  loveth 
sin/  It  is,  of  course,  true  also  that  a  man  who  loves  sin  hates  his 
own  soul. 

7.  Laqueos  :  to  ensnare  the  wicked.  But  the  Hebrew  ought, 
perhaps,  to  be  translated  ‘  glowing  coals/  This  would  fit  in  better 
with  the  fire  and  brimstone  and  burning  wind,  or  storm-wind,  which 
follow.  Cf.  the  story  of  the  destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 
The  destruction  of  the  impious  will  be  like  the  overthrow  of  the 
Cities  of  the  Plain. 


TRUST  IN  THE  LORD  ! 


37 


The  “  pars  calicis  ”  refers  to  the  Hebrew  custom  according  to 
which  the  head  of  the  house  presiding  at  table  poured  out  for  each 
member  of  the  family  his  due  portion  of  wine  into  his  cup. 

8.  The  Latin  makes  the  countenance  of  the  Lord  look  on  deeds 
of  justice.  The  Hebrew  says  that  ‘  the  upright  shall  see  His  (God’s) 
face.’  The  vision  of  God’s  face  is  a  symbol  of  blessedness.  The 
Greek  and  Targum  texts  seem  to  have  substituted  for  the  Hebrew 
text  the  more  re  verent  ial  st  at  ement  that  God  will  look  on  the  just. 


PSALM  XI 

COMPLAINT  OF  THE  PIOUS 


THE  time  is  one  of  social  chaos.  Pride,  treachery,  and  deceit 
dominate  societ y,  and  the  pious  are  smarting  under  oppression. 
The  psalmist  prays  for  the  destruction  of  his  boastful  and 
insolent  foes.  He  remembers  that  the  Lord  has  promised 
to  come  forward  to  help  the  righteous  ;  and,  full  of  confidence  in 
God’s  word,  which  is  pure,  like  silver  many  times  refined,  he  calmly 
awaits  the  divine  protection  against  the  existing  generation  of  his 
foes — even  though,  for  the  moment,  godlessness  is  permitted  to 
prevail. 

If  we  are  to  find  a  time  for  this  poem  in  the  life  of  David,  it  must 
be  during  his  days  of  perii  in  the  court  of  Saul.  There  he  was  sur- 
rounded  by  intrigue,  and  exposed  to  the  malignant  envy  of  his  less 
successful  comrades.  The  abundance  of  mali  ce  and  intrigue  which 
David  saw  in  the  little  court  of  Saul,  may  have  embittered  him  for 
a  while  against  the  pettiness  of  men  generally,  and  called  forth  the 
complaints  of  this  poem.  But  there  is  nothing  definite  in  the  psalm, 
besides  the  title,  to  attach  it  to  David. 


i.  In  finem  pro  octava, 
Psalmus  David. 


i.  For  the  choir-Ieader ;  according  to  the 
octave  ;  a  psalm  of  David. 


2.  Salvum  me  fac,  Domine 
quoniam  defecit  sanctus  :  quo¬ 
niam  diminutae  sunt  veritates 
a  filiis  hominum. 

3.  Vana  locuti  sunt  unusquis¬ 
que  ad  proximum  suum  :  labia 
dolosa,  in  corde  et  corde  locuti 
sunt. 


2.  Rescue  me,  O  Lord,  for  the  pious  doth  fail, 

For  vanished  is  faithfulness  from  among 
the  children  of  men. 

3.  Lying  things  the  one  speaketh  against  the 

other  ; 

They  speak  with  deceiving  lips  and 
double  hearts. 


4.  Disperdat  Dominus  uni¬ 
versa  labia  dolosa,  et  linguam 
magniloquam. 

5.  Qui  dixerunt :  Linguam 
nostram  magnificabimus,  labia 
nostra  a  nobis  sunt,  quis  noster 
Dominus  est  ? 


4.  May  the  Lord  destroy  all  deceitful  lips 

And  every  boasting  tongue 

5.  (Of  those)  who  say  :  “  We  shall  show  forth 

the  power  of  our  tongue  ; 

Our  lips  depend  on  us  alone.  Who  is 
our  master  ?  ” 


6.  Propter  miseriam  inopum,  6. 
et  gemitum  pauperum,  nunc  ex¬ 
surgam,  dicit  Dominus. 

Ponam  in  salutari  :  fiducia¬ 
liter  agam  in  eo. 


Because  of  the  wretchedness  of  the  help 
less  and  the  sighs  of  the  poor 
‘I  will  now  arise,’  saith  the  Lord, 

‘  I  will  put  them  in  safety  ; 

I  will  act  decisively  therein.’ 

38 


COMPLAINT  OF  THE  PIOUS 


39 


7.  Eloquia  Domini,  eloquia  7. 
casta  :  argentum  igne  exami¬ 
natum,  probatum  terrae  purga¬ 
tum  septuplum. 

8.  Tu  Domine  servabis  nos  :  8. 

et  custodies  nos  a  generatione 
hac  in  aeternum. 

9.  In  circuitu  impii  ambu-  9. 

lant :  secundum  altitudinem 

tuam  multiplicasti  filios  homi¬ 
num 


The  words  of  the  Lord  are  words  sincere 
(They  are)  silver  tried  in  fire,  current  in 
the  land,  seven  times  refined. 

>Thou,  O  Lord,  wilt  guard  us, 

And  wilt  protect  us  for  ever  from  this 
generation 

The  godless  come  and  go  around  (us)  ; 
According  to  Thine  own  greatness  Thou 
dost  make  the  children  of  men  to 
increase. 


1.  Pro  octava,  cf.  Ps.  vi.  1. 

2.  Salvum  me  fac  :  Hebrew,  ‘  Give  help,  O  Yahweh  ! ' 

Deficit,  fail,  disappear. 

Diminutce  sunt  veritates  ;  no  fidelity  or  constancy  is  left.  Filii 
hominum,  men. 

3.  Corde  et  corde  is  the  dipsuchos  of  James  i.  8 — a  double  heart, 
i. e.  an  insincere  heart. 

5.  Understand  [eorum]  qui,  etc.  Linguam  nostram  magnificabimus, 
we  shall  speak  in  a  boasting,  insolent  fashion. 

Labia  nostra  a  nobis,  etc.,  are  with  us,  on  our  side.  We  can  use 
them  as  we  please.  We  are  not  compelled  to  use  our  lips  to  pay 
homage  to  any  lord.  It  is  a  proud  expression  of  independence — 
possibly  against  the  King,  possibly  against  David. 

6.  The  words  in  this  verse  are  spoken  by  God. 

Ponam  insalutari,  1 1  will  set  them  in  safety/ 

Fiducialiter  agam  in  eo — if  spoken  by  God,  must  mean,  ‘  I 
will  boldly  act  on  behalf  of  the  oppressed  ’  ;  ‘I  will  show  them 
the  full  power  of  my  protection/  If  the  words  are  taken  as 
spoken  by  the  psalmist,  they  are  the  beginning  of  his  profession 
of  confidence  in  the  word  of  the  Lord  which  is  contained  in 
verse  7.  In  this  second  view  the  phrase  will  mean  :  ‘  I  will 
put  full  trust  in  Him  ’  ( i. e .  God),  or,  ‘  in  His  words/  The 
Hebrew  is  difficult  and  obscure,  but  it  clearly  takes  the  whole 
verse  6  as  spoken  by  the  Lord. 

7.  The  word  of  the  Lord.  His  promise  of  help,  is  altogether  trust- 
worthy  ;  it  is  complet ely  genuine,  and  fully  meant. 

Probatum  terree  is  often  taken  as,  ‘  approved  upon  earth/  ‘  current/ 
‘  (regarded  as  genuine)  among  men/  The  reference  is  immediately 
to  the  silver.  Jerome  translates  :  separatum  a  terra,  i. e.  cleared  of 
all  dross.  The  Hebrew  is  obscure. 

8.  Generatio  may  be  taken  here  as  the  present  evil  generation 
(so  in  translation  above),  or  as  ‘  the  present  time  ’ — from  now  and 
for  ever. 

9.  The  impious  are  free  to  go  and  come,  and  plan,  and  exeeute 
their  intrigues.  The  Latin  text  seems  to  imply  that,  in  spite  of  the 


4o 


THE  PSALMS 


freedom  and  success  of  the  godless,  God  causes  the  children  of  men — 
the  pious,  to  abound.  The  Hebrew  text  is  here  obscure  ;  it  seems  to 
refer  only  to  the  godless.  Jerome’s  translation — cum  exaltati  fuerint 
vilissimi  filiorum  hominum,  does  not  help  us  greatly.  It  is  a  strange 
thing  to  find  a  psalm  ending  on  a  note  of  failure  or  despondency. 
We  may  conjecture,  therefore,  that  the  text  in  the  final  verse  has 
suffered  serious  corruption.^ 


PSALM  XII 

CONFIDENCE  IN  THE  TIME  OF  TRIAL 


THERE  are  three  stages  in  the  poem.  In  the  first  (verses  1-3) 
the  psalmist  complains  of  the  grief  and  care  in  which  he  is 
forced  to  live  because  God’s  face  is  turned  away  from  him. 
In  the  second  stage  (4-5)  he  prays  earnestly  for  help  lest 
he  die,  and  his  death  be  taken  by  his  foes  as  a  token  of  his  Lord’s 
indifference  or  weakness.  In  the  final  section  (6)  he  expresses  his 
complete  confidence  in  the  certainty  of  help,  and  his  song  of 
complaint  passes  into  a  hymn  of  thanksgiving. 

Those  who  accept  the  ascription  of  this  poem  to  David,  assign  it 
to  a  somewhat  later  period  in  the  royal  singer’s  life  than  Psalm  x.  It 
suggests  a  more  thoroughgoing  persecution  of  the  psalmist  than  does 
Psalm  x.  If  it  describes,  as  many  think,  the  anxieties  and  troubles 
of  David  pursued  by  Saul,  it  belongs  to  the  last  and  most  troublesome 
period  of  Sauhs  campaign  against  David,  when  the  latter  was  com- 
pelled  to  take  refuge  with  his  former  foes,  the  Philistines. 


1.  In  finem,  Psalmus  David. 


1.  For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of  David. 


Usquequo  Domine  oblivisce¬ 
ris  me  in  finem  ?  Usquequo 
avertis  faciem  tuam  a  me  ? 

2.  Quamdiu  ponam  consilia 
in  anima  mea,  dolorem  in  corde 
meo  per  diem  ? 

3.  Usquequo  exaltabitur  ini¬ 
micus  meus  super  me  ? 


How  long,  O  Lord,  wilt  Thou  thus  com- 
pletely  forget  me  ? 

How  long  wilt  Thou  hide  Thy  face  from 
me  ? 

2.  How  long  must  I  carry  care  in  my  soul ; 

And  grief  in  my  heart  the  live-long  day  ? 

3.  How  long  shall  my  foe  triumph  over  me  ? 


4.  Respice,  et  exaudi  me  Do¬ 
mine  Deus  meus. 

Illumina  oculos  meos  ne  um- 
quam  obdormiam  in  morte  : 

5.  Nequando  dicat  inimicus 
meus  :  Praevalui  adversus  eum. 

Qui  tribulant  me,  exsultabunt 
si  motus  fuero  : 


4.  Look  on  me,  and  hear  me,  O  Lord  my 

God  ! 

Make  my  eyes  to  shine  lest  I  fall  asleep 
in  death  ; 

5.  Lest  my  foe  should  ever  say  :  ‘  I  ha  ve 

mastered  him  ’  ; 

(Lest)  my  enemies  rejoice  when  I 
stumble. 


6.  Ego  autem  in  misericordia 
tua  speravi. 

Exsultabit  cor  meum  in  salu¬ 
tari  tuo  :  cantabo  Domino  qui 
bona  tribuit  mihi :  et  psallam 
nomini  Domini  altissimi. 


6.  But  I  hold  firm  my  trust  in  Thy  kindness  : 
My  heart  will  rejoice  because  of  Thy 
help  : 

I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord  who  hath  dealt 
kindly  with  me  ; 

And  I  will  hymn  the  name  of  the  Lord,. 
the  Most  High. 


4i 


42 


THE  PSALMS 


1.  Usquequo  :  the  '  How  long  !  *  four  times  repeated  in  the  first 
section,  shows  the  intensity  of  the  psalmisTs  feeling.  God  seems  to 
have  forgotten  him  completely  [in  finem). 

2.  Consilia.  The  Hebrew  text  suggests  anxious  ponderings  and 
plannings  as  to  means  of  escape  from  perils  that  threaten.  How  long 
must  he  go  on  anxiously  devising  pians  against  this  trouble  ? 

Dolorem  is  governed  by  ponam.  Per  diem  seems  here  to  mean 
‘  continually.’  Some  Greek  texts  add  :  ‘  and  night.’ 

4.  His  eyes  are  dimmed  and  almost  broken  with  grief.  He  prays 
the  Lord  to  give  them  back  their  natural  lustre,  lest  he  “  sleep  the 
sleep  of  death,”  and  thus  give  gladness  to  his  enemies.  The  enemies 
will  take  the  psalmisfs  failure  as  a  proof  of  the  helplessness  of  his 
God.  That  must  not  be. 

6.  Notice  how  the  mere  voicing  of  his  sorrow  and  trouble  in 
prayer  brings  comfort,  and  the  full  confidence  that  help  and  rescue 
are  at  hand. 


PSALM  XIII 


THE  FOOLS 

THE  psalmist  looks  back  on  a  time  not  long  past  when  blasphemy, 
religious  indifference,  and  injustice  prevailed  (1-3)  ;  he  re- 
joices  that  folly  has  met  with  its  deserts,  and  that  the  impious 
have  received  their  reward,  and  that  their  schemings  against 
the  righteous  have  turned  back  upon  themselves  (4-6).  He  ends 
with  a  prayer  that  the  Lord  may  deign  quickly  to  change  the  lot  of 
Israel,  and  so  give  the  nation  reason  to  rejoice. 

The  occasion  of  the  psalm  cannot  be  determined.  It  is  clearly 
implied  that  God  has  strikingly  intervened  to  punish  the  godless 
enemies  of  the  psalmist,  but  we  have  no  means  of  explaining  the 
impii cation.  The  poem  appears  again  as  Psalm  lii,  with  the  title 
‘  Pro  maeleth  intelligentice  David,’  i.e.  (perhaps)  ‘  To  the  tune  of 
Mahatath( ?),  a  maskil  of  David/  The  second  recension  of  the  poem 
is  in  the  so-called  Elohistic  spirit  :  it  substitutes  Elohim  for  Yahweh.1 
The  concluding  verse  of  Ps.  xiii  may,  perhaps,  refer  to  the  Babylonian 
captivity.  Obviously  David  could  not  have  spoken  of  events  which 
occurred  four  hundred  years  after  his  time  except  as  a  prophet.  If 
the  last  verse  refers  to  the  Babylonian  captivity,  and  if  David  is  the 
author  of  the  whole  poem,  we  can  look  on  the  picture  presented  in 
the  psalm  as  due  to  the  moralisings  of  David  on  times  to  come,  and 
as  unconnected,  therefore,  with  any  definite  incident  in  his  own 
career.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  “  avertere  captivitatem  ”  may, 
according  to  the  Hebrew,  simply  mean  *  change  the  lot/  or  condition, 
without  reference  to  an  exile.  Further,  it  is  possible  that  the  last 
verse  is  a  liturgical  addition  to  the  psalm  appended  in  the  Exilic 
period. 

1.  In  finem,  Psalmus  David. 

Dixit  inspiens  in  corde  suo  : 

Non  est  Deus. 

Corrupti  sunt,  et  abomina¬ 
biles  facti  sunt  in  studiis  suis  : 
non  est  qui  faciat  bonum,  non 
est  usque  ad  unum. 


1.  For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of  David. 


The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart : 

“  There  is  no  God." 

They  are  perverted  and  hateful  because  of 
their  deeds. 

There  is  none  that  doth  good — not  even 
one  ! 


1  Psalm  lii.  calls  itself  a  Maskil  of  David  (“  Intelligentia  David,”  Vulg.) 
The  word  Maskil  seems  to  indicate  either  a  didactic  poem,  or  a  poem  con- 
structed  accurately  according  to  received  metrical  principies.  For  meaning  of 
Maskil ,  see  Psalm  xli. 


43 


44 


THE  PSALMS 


2.  Dominus  de  caelo  prosperit  2. 
super  filios  hominum,  ut  videat 

si  est  intelligens,  aut  requirens 
Deum. 

3.  Omnes  declinaverunt,  si-  3. 
mul  inutiles  facti  sunt :  non  est 

qui  faciat  bonum,  non  est  usque 
ad  unum. 


Sepulchrum  patens  est  guttur 
eorum  :  linguis  suis  dolose  age¬ 
bant,  venenum  aspidum  sub 
labiis  eorum. 

Quorum  os  maledictione  et 
amaritudine  plenum  est :  ve¬ 
loces  pedes  eorum  ad  effunden¬ 
dum  sanguinem. 

Contritio  et  infelicitas  in  viis 
eorum,  et  viam  pacs  non  co¬ 
gnoverunt  :  non  est  timor  Dei 
ante  oculos  eorum. 


4.  Nonne  cognoscent  omnes  4. 
qui  operantur  iniquitatem,  qui 
devorant  plebem  meam  sicut 
escam  panis  ? 

5.  Dominum  non  invocave¬ 
runt,  illic  trepidaverunt  timore, 
ubi  non  erat  timor. 

6.  Quoniam  Dominus  in  gene¬ 
ratione  justa  est,  consilium  ino¬ 
pis  confudistis :  quoniam  Do¬ 
minus  spes  ejus  est. 


7.  Quis  dabit  ex  Sion  salutare  7. 
Israel  ?  cum  averterit  Dominus 
captivitatem  plebis  suae,  exsulta¬ 
bit  Jacob,  et  laetabitur  Israel. 


The  Lord  looketh  down  from  heaven 
On  the  children  of  men, 

To  see  if  there  is  one  that  understandeth, 
Or  one  that  inquireth  after  God. 

All  ha  ve  gone  astray,  all  ha  ve  become 
profitless. 

There  is  none  that  doth  good — no,  not 
even  one  ! 


Have  not  all  evil-doers  experienced  it(?) — 
They  who  did  evil,  who  devoured  my 
people  like  a  meal(?)  of  bread  ; 


O  that  rescue  for  Israel  were  come  from 
Sion  ! 

When  the  Lord  bringeth  back  the  cap¬ 
tives  of  His  people, 

Jacob  will  be  glad,  and  Israel  will  rejoice. 


[Their  heart  is  an  open  grave.  With  their 
tongues  they  deal  deceitfully.  The  poison 
of  adders  is  beneath  their  lips.  Their  mouth 
is  full  of  malediction  and  taunting.  Their 
feet  rush  on  to  deeds  of  bloodshed.  Destruc- 
tion  and  wretchedness  are  on  their  paths  and 
the  way  of  peace  they  know  not ;  there  is 
no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes'] 


5.  They  who  called  not  on  the  Lord  ! 

Then  did  they  tremble  with  terror  even 
where  there  was  no  (real)  cause  for  fear, 

6.  For  the  Lord  is  with  the  generation  that 

is  upright. 

Ye  are  brought  to  shame  through  intrigu- 
ing  against  the  helpless  ; 

For  the  Lord  is  his  hope. 


1.  The  insipiens  is  the  fool — the  nabhal  of  the  Hebrew.  *  Folly ' 
— the  attitude  of  the  nabhal,  included  ingratitude  to  God,  and  open 
immorality.  The  ‘  fool  ’  does  not  deny  God’s  existence  :  he  denies 
only  divine  rule  or  Providence.  The  Targum  version  puts  the  thought 
well :  *  There  is  no  rule  of  God  on  earth.'  There  were  no  theoretical 
atheists  in  Israel.  The  *  fool  ’  was  the  man  who  thought  that  God 
does  not  care.  C/.  Ps.  ix.  34  ;  Sophonias  i.  12. 

Dicere  in  corde=thmk.  Cf.  ix.  28. 

In  studiis  suis  appears  in  Ps.  lii.  as  in  iniquitatibus.  The  “  studia  ” 
include  both  schemes,  and  the  actions  by  which  men  put  them  in 
practice.  *  Not  even  one  ’  is  added  by  the  Greek  text ;  it  is  not  in 
the  Hebrew. 


THE  FOOLS 


45 


2.  God  leans  out  from  His  throne  in  heaven  to  look  for  a  "  maskil / 
an  intelligens,  the  antithesis  of  the  fool,  among  men.  The  quaerens 
Deum,  the  one  that  seeketh  for  God,  the  man  that  puts  God  before 
him  in  his  life,  is  the  same  as  the  “  intelligens  Possibly  Ps.  lii.  is 
called  a  “  maskil  ”  because  the  poem  deals  with  the  madness  of 
"  folly,”  and  the  praise  of  prudence. 

3.  There  is  no  maskil  among  men.  They  ha  ve  all  *  gone  aside  ' 
from  God  ;  they  ha  ve  become  "  insipid  ”  (Hebrew)  :  they  are 

inutiles  ”  because  their  evil  life  brings  no  pro  fit  or  credit  to  their 
God.  *  Not  even  one  *  is  an  integral  part  of  the  text  here. 

Sepulchrum  patens,  etc.,  to  the  end  of  verse  3,  has  been  inserted 
here  from  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  iii.  13-18.  The  Pauline  text 
in  question  consists  itself  mainly  of  psalm  passages. 

Sepulchrum  patens  ;  cf.  Ps.  v.  10. 

Venenum  aspidum ;  cf.  Ps.  cxxxix.  4. 

Quorum  os  ;  cf.  Ps.  ix.  28.  Veloces  pedes  ;  cf.  Is.  lix.  7/.  Non 
est  timor  ;  cf.  Ps.  xxxv.  2. 

The  passage  from  the  Romans  seems  to  ha  ve  found  its  way  into 
the  text  through  the  carelessness  of  some  copyist  ;  or,  possibly, 
its  insertion  is  due  to  the  fact  that  St.  PauPs  texts  depict  so  fully 
the  character  of  the  ‘  fool/  The  insertion  is  absent  from  Ps.  lii. 

4.  Nonne  cognoscent,  etc.,  *  They  ha  ve  sinned  ;  have  they  not 
also  realised  the  folly  of  their  sin  when  its  consequences  have 
appeared  ?  ’ 

Esca  panis,  a  meal,  or  a  piece  of  bread.  Ps.  lii.  reads,  ut  cibum  panis. 
The  phrase  may  be  taken  simply  as  ‘  who  devour  my  people  like 
bread/  (The  Hebrew  has  been  explained  as  meaning  :  ‘  They  eat  the 
bread  of  the  Lord  though  they  did  not  call  on  His  name/) 

5.  Connect  with  preceding — ‘  qui  *  Dominum  non  invocaverunt. 

Illic  trepidaverunt,  etc.  may  mean  that  they  were  suddenly  over- 

taken  by  God’s  vengeance  when  they  had  no  speci al  reason  for  ex- 
pecting  it.  It  has  been  taken  also  as  meaning  that  the  impious 
had  reason  to  fear  when  the  godly  had  none.  The  psalmist  seems  to 
refer  to  some  definite  event  which  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining. 
Ubi  non  erat  timor  is  wanting  here  in  Hebrew,  but  it  is  found  in 
Hebrew  of  Ps.  lii. 

6.  The  ground  of  their  fear  was  quoniam  Dominus  in  generatione 
justa  est,  i. e.  that  there  is  indeed  a  God  who  cares  for  His 
elect,  and  protects  them  against  their  oppressors.  The  event 
referred  to  in  verse  5  was  such  as  to  bring  horne  this  truth  to 
the  ‘  fools/ 

Consilium  inopis,  etc.  If  this  must  be  translated  as  it  stands, 
it  can  only  mean  :  ‘  the  plan  (i. e.  the  determination  to  seek  after 
God)  of  the  just  (or  “  lowly  ”),  you  seek  (or,  have  sought)  to  frustrate/ 
An  easy  change  in  the  Hebrew  would  admit  of  the  translation  :  con¬ 
silio  inopis  confusi  sunt,  i. e.  through  the  plan  which  they  devised 


THE  PSALMS 


46 

against  the  lowly  they  (the  “  fools  ”)  were  brought  to  shame.  Their 
cruel  designs  were  defeated  by  the  intervention  of  the  Lord. 

7.  Quis  dabit  is  the  usual  Hebrew  manner  of  expressing  an  eamest 
wish  :  ‘  O  that  help  might  come  from  Sion  !  ’ 

Averterit  captivitatem  seems  to  mean  in  the  Hebrew  :  ‘  when  the 
Lord  shall  change  the  lot  of  His  people/  The  whole  verse  is  a  wish 
for  the  re-establishment  of  the  nation  after  some  time  of  trial  or 
disaster. 


PSALM  XIV 


THE  CITIZEN  OF  SION 


THE  psalmist  puts  before  us  here  the  ideal  of  a  pious  Israelite. 
He  dramatises  his  thought  in  Hebrew  fashion,  and  brings 
an  Israelite,  or  a  procession  of  Israelites,  to  the  entrance  of 
the  Temple  (or  Tabernacle)  to  ask  of  those  who  keep  watch 
there  (the  Priests),  what  he  must  be,  and  do,  who  will  enter  into  God  s 
House,  and  there  abide.  The  guardians  of  the  Sanctuary  answer 
that  a  true  domesticus  Dei  must  be  honest,  straightforward  with  him- 
self  and  others,  careful  of  his  fellows'  good  repute,  trustworthy,  averse 
to  all  ill-gotten  gain  and  bribery.  He  that  answers  to  this 
description  can  never  fail,  or  be  confounded. 

The  psalm  seems  to  be  quoted  in  Isaias  xxxiii.  13-16,  and  must, 
therefore,  be  at  least  older  than  the  Isaian  period.  There  is  nothing 
in  the  psalm  which  excludes  the  Davidic  authorship  claimed  by  its 
title.  When  commentators  infer  from  the  absence  of  all  reference 
to  sacrifice  and  cult-ceremonial  in  the  picture  of  the  perfect  Israelite, 
that  the  psalm  must  belong  to  a  very  late  period,  they  forget  that  the 
psalmist  is  writing  about  the  quali ties  which  permit  a  man  to  join 
the  household  of  God,  and  not  about  the  actions  to  be  performed 
by  him  when  he  is  within  the  household. 


1.  Psalmus  David. 


1.  A  psalm  of  David. 


Domine  quis  habitabit  in 
tabernaculo  tuo  ?  aut  quis  re¬ 
quiescet  in  monte  sancto  tuo  ? 


(Visitor  to  Temple). 

O  Lord,  who  will  dwell  in  Thy  tent  ? 

And  who  will  abide  on  Thy  Holy 
Mountain  ? 


2.  Qui  ingreditur  sine  macula, 
et  operatur  justitiam  : 

3.  Qui  loquitur  veritatem  in 
corde  suo,  qui  non  egit  dolum  in 
lingua  sua  : 

Nec  fecit  proximo  suo  malum, 
et  opprobrium  non  accepit  ad¬ 
versus  proximos  suos. 

4.  Ad  nihilum  deductus  est  in 
conspectu  ejus  malignus  :  ti¬ 
mentes  autem  Dominum  glori¬ 
ficat  : 

Qui  jurat  proximo  suo,  et 
non  decipit, 


(Priests) . 

2.  He  that  walketh  without  stain,  and 

practiseth  justice  ; 

3.  Who  thinketh  truth  in  his  heart ; 

Who  accomplisheth  no  deceit  with  his 
tongue  ; 

Who  doth  no  evil  to  his  neighbour, 

And  permitteth  no  slandering  of  his 
fellow-men  ; 

4.  By  whom  the  malicious  is  treated  with 

(due)  contempt ; 

Who  praiseth  those  that  fear  the  Lord, 
Who  sweareth  to  his  neighbour,  and  de- 
ceiveth  him  not ; 


47 


48 


THE  PSALMS 


5.  Qui  pecuniam  suam  non 
dedit  ad  usuram,  et  munera 
super  innocentem  non  accepit. 


5.  Who  giveth  not  his  gold  for  usury, 

And  taketh  not  bribes  against  the 
guiltless  : 


Qui  facit  haec,  non  movebitur 
in  aeternum. 


Whoso  acteth  thus  shall  not  fail  for 
e  ver. 


1.  It  has  been  conjectured  on  the  basis  of  this  psalm  and  of  Ps.  xxiii. 
3-5  and  Is.  xxxiii.  14-16,  that  it  was  customary  for  the  priests  guard- 
ing  the  Temple  gateways  to  warn  those  entering  the  Temple  that  only 
the  pure  and  upright  were  entitled  to  enter.  Here  the  visitor  to 
the  Temple,  or  the  procession  which  approaches  the  Temple  (or  Tent), 
asks  the  question  with  which  the  Psalm  begins.  Possibly  a  form  of 
song  like  this  psalm  was  chanted  whenever  processions  advanced 
towards  the  Temple  on  the  feast  days.  The  priests  from  within  the 
Temple  recite  or  chant  the  answer  which  is  here  given,  verses  2  ff. 
What  was  true  of  the  Temple  may  have  been  true,  also,  of  the 
Tabernacle  (verse  2)  of  DavkTs  time. 

2.  The  answer  of  the  priests  reminds  the  people  of  what  the 
holiness  of  God's  House  requires  of  them.  In  verse  2  the  uprightness 
of  external  action  is  emphasised. 

3.  This  is  the  uprightness  of  a  man  whose  heart  is  right,  and 
who  is  honest  with  himself  and  others  ;  he  will  not  do  evil,  nor  listen 
to  slander  against  his  neighbour. 

4.  He  will  despise  the  malignus — the  godless,  the  antithesis  of 
those  “who  fear  God.” 

Qui  jurat,  etc.  The  Latin  would  suggest  an  oath  to  do  his  fellow 
a  Service,  from  which  the  true  Israelite  would  not  withdraw.  The 
Hebrew  is  different  :  ‘  If  he  swears  to  inflict  evil,  he  deceiveth  not/ 
The  reference  seems  to  be  to  Lev.  v.  4  :  If  a  man  swear  he  must  ac- 
complish  his  oath. 

5.  Is  this  an  absolute  prohibition  of  usury  ?  Usury  against 
Israelites,  but  not  usury  against  foreigners,  was  prohibited  in  the 
Law.  The  conclusion  w e  should  expect  would  be  :  He  that  doth 
these  things  may  hope  to  be  the  Lord's  guest.  But  the  priestly 
speakers  naturally  conclude  with  a  blessing. 


PSALM  XV 


GOD  IS  MAN’S  CHIEF  GOOD 


THE  psalmist  has  found  in  the  Lord  his  true  happiness,  for 
the  Lord  gives  peace  to  His  faithful  ones  in  Israel.  From 
idol-worship  and  its  abominations  he  tums  to  the  Lord, 
who  alone  is  his  allotted  possession.  He  gives  thanks  for 
the  prosperity  of  his  lot,  and  is  sure  that  in  the  protection  of  the  Lord 
he  can,  at  ali  times,  despise  all  perii.  The  Lord  will  not  suffer  His 
loyal  friends  to  fail ;  at  the  end  He  will  give  them  the  fulness  of  joy 
in  the  vision  of  Himself. 

This  poem  seems  to  point  to  a  time  when  many  Israelites  had 
begun  to  practise  various  forms  of  heathen  worship.  Indeed,  it 
would  almost  seem  as  if  the  “  Sancti  ” — the  loyal  servants  of  the 
Lord,  were  few  as  compared  with  those  who  ‘  ran  after  strange  gods.‘ 
It  is  difficult  to  find  a  suitable  occasion  for  such  a  poem  in  the  life  of 
David.  But  David  could  have  composed  it  in  his  character  as  prophet, 
and  perhaps,  in  his  role  as  type  of  the  Messias.  The  New  Testament 
(Acts  ii.  22-31  ;  xiii.  35)  takes  the  psalm  as  descriptive  of  the  Messias, 
or  rather,  as  composed  by  the  Messias  through  the  mouth  of  David. 
Modern  critical  writers  are  inclined  to  take  the  poem  as  a  song  of  tho 
Exilic  period,  during  which  many  of  the  exiles  in  Babylon  feli 
away.  from  the  worship  of  Yahweh.  The  psalm  is  of  great  religious 
importance,  implying,  as  it  does,  a  hope  of  a  blessed  immortality  to 
be  attained  in  the  vision  of  God. 


1.  Tituli  inscriptio  ipsi  David.  1. 

Conserva  me  Domine,  quo¬ 
niam  speravi  in  te. 

2.  Dixi  Domino  :  Deus  meus  2. 
es  tu,  quoniam  bonorum  meo¬ 
rum  non  eges. 

3.  Sanctis,  qui  sunt  in  terra  3. 
ejus,  mirifica vit  omnes  volun¬ 
tates  meas  in  eis. 


A  monumental  poem  of  David. 


Guard  me,  O  Lord,  for  in  Thee  I  put  my 
trust ! 

I  say  to  the  Lord  :  My  God  art  Thou  ! 

For  Thou  hast  no  need  of  my  posses- 
sions. 

As  for  the  pious  ones  who  dwell  in  His 
land — 

He  hath  wondrously  accomplished  all 
that  which  I  did  wish  for  them. 


4.  Multiplicatae  sunt  infirmi¬ 
tates  eorum  :  postea  accelerave¬ 
runt. 

Non  congregabo  conventicula 
eorum  de  sanguinibus,  nec  me¬ 
mor  ero  nominum  eorum  per 
labia  mea. 

4 


4.  Many  are  the  woes  of  them  that  run  after 
them  {i. e.,  strange  gods). 

I  will  not  call  together  their  gatherings 
because  of  (their)  libations  of  blood. 
I  will  not  take  their  name  upon  my  lips. 


49 


5° 


THE  PSALMS 


5.  Dominus  pars  haereditatis  5. 
meas,  et  calicis  mei  :  tu  es,  qui 
restitues  haereditatem  meam 
mihi. 


The  Lord  is  my  allotted  possession,  and 
the  portion  of  my  cup  : 

It  is  Thou  that  givest  to  me  my  in- 
heritance. 


6.  Funes  ceciderunt  mihi  in 
praeclaris  :  etenim  haereditas 
mea  praeclara  est  mihi. 

7.  Benedicam  Dominum,  qui 
tribuit  mihi  intellectum  :  in¬ 
super  et  usque  ad  noctem 
increpuerunt  me  renes  mei. 


6.  The  measuring  lines  have  fallen  for  me 

in  pleasant  places  ; 

And  my  possession  is  beautiful  in  my 
eyes. 

7.  I  bless  the  Lord  who  hath  given  me  in- 

sight : 

Even  unto  the  night  my  reins  do  exhort 
me. 


8.  Providebam  Dominum  in  8. 

conspectu  meo  semper :  quo¬ 
niam  a  dextris  est  mihi,  ne 
commovear. 

9.  Propter  hoc  laetatum  est  9. 

cor  meum,  et  exsultavit  lingua 
mea :  insuper  et  caro  mea 

requiescet  in  spe. 

10.  Quoniam  non  derelinques  10. 
animam  meam  in  inferno  :  nec 
dabis  sanctum  tuum  videre  cor¬ 
ruptionem. 

Notas  mihi  fecisti  vias  vitae, 
adimplebis  me  laetitia  cum  vultu 
tuo  :  delectationes  in  dextera 
tua  usque  in  finem. 


I  see  the  Lord  at  all  times  by  me  ; 

For  He  is  at  my  right  hand  that  I  may 
not  waver. 

Hence  my  heart  is  glad,  and  my  tongue 
rejoiceth, 

And  my  flesh  doth  dwell  in  securityj 

For  Thou  wilt  not  abandon  me  to  the 
underworld  ; 

Nor  wilt  Thou  permit  Thy  faithful 
worshipper  to  see  destruction. 

Thou  wilt  show  me  the  way  of  life  ; 

Thou  wilt  fili  me  with  joy  through  the 
vision  of  Thee. 

Delights  are  in  Thy  right  hand  for  ever. 


1.  The  Latin  title,  Tituli  inscriptio,  is  not  more  or  less  ciear  than 
the  Hebrew  Mikhtam.  Tituli  inscriptio  translates  the  Greek  stelo- 
graphia,  i. e.  an  inscription  on  a  pillar.  The  word  titulus  would  by 
itself,  perhaps,  express  this  idea  of  a  conspicuous  inscription  ;  in¬ 
scriptio  makes  this  sense  of  titulus  more  obvions.  The  two  words 
might  be  translated,  *  an  inscribed  (or  engraved)  text/  The  name  of 
the  psalm  suggests,  perhaps,  its  abiding  worth.  Containing  prophecy 
and  unusually  deep  theology  it  deserved  to  be  carved,  like  a  royal 
inscription,  on  a  stela.  The  Hebrew  Mikhtam  cannot  be  explained. 
Jerome  has  “  Humilis  et  simplicis  ”  as  if  mikhtam  were  really  two  words, 
makh= lowly,  and  toz=perfect. 

2.  Thou  dost  not  need  them,  for  Thou  hast  them  already.  But 
the  Hebrew  seems  to  rnean  :  ‘  I  have  no  good  thing  that  goes  beyond 
Thee/  i. e.  ‘  Thou  art  my  chiefest  good.’  Jerome  translates  :  Bene 
mihi  non  est  sine  te. 

3.  The  Latin  here  differs  from  the  Greek,  the  latter  being  some- 
what  closer  to  the  Hebrew.  The  Latin  speaks  of  the  Lord  as  fulfilling 
wondrously  ( mirificare )  his  (the  psalmisfs)  own  wishes  towards  the 
pious  of  Israel.  The  Greek  says  that  God  carried  out  wondrously 
His  own  kind  designs  for  the  pious  ones.  As  in  the  early  Christian 
period  the  faithful  were  called  “  Sancti,”  so,  in  the  psalms,  the  loyal 
friends  of  the  Law  often  get  this  title. 


GOD  IS  MAN’S  CHIEF  GOOD 


5i 


4.  This  text  describes  the  lot  of  those  who  ha  ve  gone  aside  from 
the  worship  of  the  Lord.  Their  troubles  ha  ve  increased  because  they 
have  run  after  stranger  gods  (post  ea,  i. e.  idola).  The  Hebrew  puts 
the  thought  clearly  :  *  Many  are  the  woes  of  those  who  run  after 
Another  ’  (i.  e.  another  god).  The  psalmist  goes  on  to  say  that  he 
will  have  nothing  to  do  with  their  false  worship.  He  will  not  summon 
(or,  poss  bly,  *  join  ')  their  cult-gatherings  because  of  the  deeds  of 
blood  done  by  the  idolaters,  or,  perhaps,  because  of  the  bloody  offerings 
(such,  possibly,  as  human  sacrifices)  which  are  presented  by  the 
idolaters  to  their  divinities.  He  will  not  even  so  much  as  mention 
the  names  of  the  apostates.  It  is  possible,  however,  to  take  de  san¬ 
guinibus  directly  with  conventicula,  and  understand  the  combination 
to  mean  conventicula  cruenta,  i. e.  assemblies  at  which  libations  of 
blood  were  poured  so  in  Hebrew  :  *  I  will  not  pour  their  libations 
of  blood/  Here  also  there  may  be  suggested  the  idea  of  human 
sacrifices,  and  libations  of  human  blood. 

5.  In  contrast  with  the  idolaters,  the  psalmist  looks  on  the  Lord 
as  his  sole  portion  and  possession.  As  the  Hebrew  paterfamilias 
poured  into  the  cup  of  each  guest  at  table  the  portion  appointed  to 
each  one,  so  has  the  Lord  been  apportioned  to  the  psalmist.  The 
Lord  is  also  the  peculiar  possession,  the  special  portion,  as  it  were, 
of  a  farm  left  by  will,  which  has  been  assigned  to  the  poet.  The 
renegade  Israelites  serve  foreign  gods  ;  the  Lord  is  the  possession  of 
the  faithful.  The  picture  of  the  cup  may  have  been  suggested  here 
by  the  libations  of  blood  in  the  preceding  verse.  The  Lord  is,  in  a 
sense,  the  well-filled  cup  of  Israel. 

Restitues,  ‘  establish  ' — so  that  it  cannot  be  interfered  with. 

6.  The  thought  of  an  inheritance  suggests  the  idea  of  the  measur- 
ing  out  of  portions  of  land.  For  the  measuring,  measuring-ropes  were 
needed  ;  the  portion  which  the  measuring-lines  of  the  psalmist  have 
enclosed  is  pleasant.  In  pr ceclaris  for  in  pr ceclar a  :  funis  (or  funiculus), 
is  equated  by  metonymy :  with  the  space  measured.  Cf.  Ps.  civ.  11 : 
Funiculum  hcereditatis  vestrce,  ‘  the  inheritance  measured  out  to  you. 
The  ‘  pleasant  inheritance  '  may  be  the  land  of  Chanaan. 

7.  The  reins  are  often  regarded  as  the  seat  of  perception.  The 
Lord  has  advised  the  psalmist  as  to  the  path  he  should  follow.  The 
path  has  led  to  success,  and  so  the  singer  thanks  the  Lord.  Usque 
ad  noc  em,  ‘  even  in  the  night/  God’s  inspiration  was  at  all  times 
urgent. 

8.  He  has  determined  to  keep  the  Lord  before  his  eyes.  When 
the  Lord  stands  at  his  right  hand,  he  has  no  fear  of  any  danger. 

9.  His  mind  and  body  (caro  mea)  are  in  perfect  security.  He  is 
untroubled  in  mind,  and  secure  from  bodily  perii. 

10.  The  ground  o  his  hope  and  confidence  is  that  the  Lord  will 
not  give  up  to  destruction  His  faithful  worshipper.  Infernus  and 
corruptio  are  made  equivalent,  by  the  parallelism.  Infernus  is  the: 


52 


THE  PSALMS 


Hebrew  Sheol,  the  dwelling-place  of  the  dead.  The  idea  is  that  God 
will  not  permit  His  loyal  friends  (a  possible  reading  of  Hebrew  would 
give  here  the  plural,  sanctos)  to  see  death — a  lasting  destruction.  It 
is  ciear  that  this  hope  in  the  full  sense,  was  not  realised  in  any  one 
but  Christ,  so  that  the  New  Testament  reference  of  this  passage  to 
Our  Lord  is  fully  justified  (Acts  ii.  24-32  ;  xiii.  34-37).  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  in  a  wider  sense,  as  implying  the  continuance  o^  the 
higher  life  of  the  spirit  and,  therefore,  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
it  has  a  general  application. 

11.  The  hope  of  an  immortality  in  the  light  of  God’s  face  seems 
to  be  here  also  implied.  God  has  taught  the  psalmist  the  genuine 
path  to  life — the  life  which  will  be  spent  with  God  H.mself.  Cum 
vultu  tuo,  ‘  by  Thy  countenance/  i. e.  by  the  Vision  of  Thy  face. 
The  Hebrew  says  :  ‘  Fulness  of  joys  is  with  (i. e.  united  with)  thy 
face '  (=presence)  ;  or,  possibly,  ‘  Fulness  of  joys  is  before  Thy 
face/  Jerome  has,  plenitudinem  Icetitiarum  ante  vultum  tuum.  The 
Lord  holds  delights  e  ver  {usque  in  finem)  ready  in  His  right  hand,  to 
distribute  them  to  His  friends. 


PSALM  XVI 


A  PRAYER  FOR  JUSTICE  AGAINST  RUTH- 

LESS  FOES 


THE  poem  contains  three  petitions.  In  the  first  (verses  1-5) 
the  psalmist  begs  of  God  to  give  him  justice  and  help  against 
his  foes.  His  cause  is  just  :  he  is  free  from  ali  guilt  ;  his 
mind  is  pure,  and  his  life  has  been  directed  by  the  Law. 
In  a  second  prayer  (6-12)  he  again  begs  for  help  from  the  Lord,  and 
describes  the  cruel  enemy  who  is  threatening  him.  The  third  appeal 
(13-15)  is  for  the  destruction  of  the  enemy.  Even  though  the  godless 
seem  to  prevail  for  a  while,  in  the  end  justice  will  triumph,  and  the 
light  of  God’s  face  will  shine  on  those  who  are  now  oppressed. 

The  psalmist  s  attitude  of  complaint,  the  description  of  his  enemies, 
his  insistence  on  his  own  blamelessness,  his  prayer  for  a  very  special 
divine  assistance,  point  to  a  time  of  great  perii  arising  from  the  menaee 
of  powerful  foes.  The  only  period  of  David's  career  in  which  he 
found  himself  in  such  a  position,  was  during  the  persecution  of  Saul. 
The  poem  is  certainly  descriptive  of  an  individual,  not  of  a  com- 
munity.  The  text  of  the  psalm  is  in  a  comparatively  poor  condition, 
and  we  thus  fail  to  get  as  much  light  from  it  about  its  origin  as,  at 
first  sight,  it  seems  to  give.  For  many  modern  critics  this  psalm 
suggests  the  social  and  religious  background  of  the  late  post-Exilic 
period.  The  psalm  is,  like  the  preceding,  of  very  great  religious 
value,  since  it  implies,  if  it  does  not  clearly  state,  the  doctrine  of 
immortality. 

1.  Oratio  David.  1.  A  prayer  of  David. 


Exaudi  Domine  justitiam  me¬ 
am  :  intende  deprecationem 
meam. 

Auribus  percipe  orationem 
meam,  non  in  labiis  dolosis. 

2.  De  vultu  tuo  judicium 
meum  prodeat :  oculi  tui  vi¬ 
deant  aequitates. 

3.  Probasti  cor  meum,  et 
visitasti  nocte :  igne  me  exa¬ 
minasti,  et  non  est  inventa  in 
me  iniquitas. 

4.  Ut  non  loquatur  os  meum 
opera  hominum  :  propter  verba 
labiorum  tuorum  ego  custodivi 
vias  duras. 


Hear,  O  Lord,  my  just  plea  :  give  heed  to 
my  petition  ! 

Give  ear  to  my  prayer  which  springs 
not  from  treacherous  lips  ! 

2.  Let  the  judgment  on  me  go  forth  from 

Thee  : 

Let  Thine  eyes  look  on  justice  ! 

3.  Thou  hast  tested  my  heart  and  searched 

it,  even  in  the  night : 

With  fire  Thou  didst  test  me  ; 

But  sin  was  not  found  in  me. 

4.  That  my  mouth  may  not  speak  of  the 

works  of  men, 

I  keep  myself  from  ways  of  evil  because 
of  the  words  of  Thy  lips. 


53 


54 


THE 


PSALMS 


5.  Perfice  gressus  meos  in  5. 

semitis  tuis  :  ut  non  moveantur 
vestigia  mea. 

6.  Ego  clamavi,  quoniam  ex-  6. 
audisti  me  Deus  :  inclina  aurem 
tuam  mihi,  et  exaudi  verba  mea. 

7.  Mirifica  misericordias  tuas,  7. 

qui  salvos  facis  sperantes  in  te. 

8.  A  resistentibus  dexterae  8. 

custodi  me,  ut  pupillam  oculi. 

Sub  umbra  alarum  tuarum 
protege  me  : 

9.  A  facie  impiorum  qui  me  9. 
afflixerunt. 

Inimici  mei  animam  meam 
circumdederunt, 

10.  Adipem  suum  concluse-  10. 

runt :  os  eorum  locutum  est 
superbiam. 

11.  Projicientes  me  nunc  cir-  11. 
cumdederunt  me  :  oculos  suos 
statuerunt  declinare  in  terram. 

12.  Susceperunt  me  sicut  leo  12. 
paratus  ad  praedam  :  et  sicut 
catulus  leonis  habitans  in  abditis. 


13.  Exsurge  Domine,  praeveni  13. 
eum,  et  supplanta  eum  :  eripe 
animam  meam  ab  impio,  fra¬ 
meam  tuam  ab  inimicis  manus 
tuae. 

14.  Domine  a  paucis  de  terra  14. 
divide  eos  in  vita  eorum  :  de 
absconditis  tuis  adimpletus  est 
venter  eorum. 

Saturati  sunt  filiis  :  et  di¬ 
miserunt  reliquias  suas  parvulis 
suis. 


15.  Ego  autem  in  justitia  ap-  15. 
parebo  conspectui  tuo  :  satia¬ 
bor  cum  apparuerit  gloria  tua. 


Make  firm  my  steps  on  Thy  paths, 

So  that  my  feet  may  not  be  made  to 
stray. 


I  call  on  Thee,  for  Thou  hearest  me,  O 
God  ! 

Bend  Thine  ear  to  me  and  hear  my 
words. 

Show  wonderfully  Thy  kindness — 

Thou  who  rescuest  those  that  trust  in 
Thee  ! 

Guard  me  as  the  apple  of  Thine  eye  from 
those  who  would  resist  Thy  right 
hand  : 

Under  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings  pro- 
tect  me, 

From  the  evil  ones  who  attack  me. 

My  enemies  encompass  me. 


They  shut  up  their  unfeeling  heart ; 

Their  mouth  speaketh  proud  things. 

They  cast  me  down  and  encompass  me  : 

They  set  their  mind  to  (my)  overthrow. 

They  seize  me  like  a  lion  ready  for  (his) 
prey, 

And  like  a  young  lion  that  lurks  in 
(his)  lair. 

Up,  O  Lord,  forestall  him  ! 

And  cast  him  to  earth  :  rescue  me  from 
the  godless,  [rescue  me  by]  Thy 
sword 

From  the  foes  of  Thy  power,  O  Lord — 

The  men  of  the  world  ; 

Requite  them  even  while  they  live. 

Their  longing  is  sated  with  Thy  stored 
up  (anger). 

They  are  abundantly  sated  with  chastise- 
ment  in  their  children  ; 

And  they  leave  their  inheritance  (of 
affliction)  to  their  children. 

But  I  shall  appear  in  justice  before  Thee  : 

I  shall  be  sated  when  Thy  glory  reveals 
itself. 


1.  Justitiam  ineam  :  meam  has  nothing  corresponding  in  Hebrew. 
Justitia  is  ‘  just  cause/  Intende,  i. e.  intende  animum  deprecationi. 
Deprecatio  seems  to  be  used  here  in  the  sense  of  precatio. 

Non  in  labiis — is  a  relative  clause,  ‘  which  is  not  from/  etc., 
Hebrew,  ‘  from  lips  free  from  guile.” 

2.  De  vultu  tuo,  ‘  from  before  Thee/  ‘  from  out  Thy  presence/ 


A  PRAYER  FOR  JUSTICE 


55 


Judicium  meum  is  the  verdict  or  sentence  on  me.  The  psalmist 
appeals  to  God  to  judge  his  case,  and  give  decision.  He  has  no  fear 
of  the  resuit.  ‘  Let  Thine  eyes/  he  adds,  ‘  look  with  justice  on  the 
case/  The  cequitates  are  the  compelling  merits  of  his  case  ;  and  if 
God  looks  on  them,  His  eyes  will  see  justly  or  fairly. 

3.  God  knows  exactly  how  the  psalmist  stands  :  He  has  tested 
his  heart,  even  at  times  when  the  psalmist  did  not  look  for  God’s 
testing,  and  He  has  found  no  trace  of  malice  in  him. 

4.  In  the  Vulgate  the  main  verb  is  custodivi ,  ‘  I  have  kept  myself 
from  cruel  ways  *  (1 vias  duras)  :  I  have  watched  evil  ways,  so  as  to 
avoid  them  ;  and  so  as  not  to  speak  of  the  evil  works  of  men.  This 
I  have  done  because  of  Thy  commands  [verba  labiorum  tuorum).  But 
the  structure  of  the  text  is  here  very  obscure.  The  vice  durce  are  more 
usually  understood  as  ways  of  austerity,  and  custodivi  in  the  usual 
meaning  of  observing  faithfully.  The  Hebrew  is  quite  different 
here  from  Vulgate  ;  but  the  translation  given  of  the  Vulgate  above 
puts  the  two  texts  in  the  closest  relation  that  can  be  devised  for 
texts  so  unlike. 

5.  Perfice  ;  cf.  perfecisti  laudem,  Ps.  viii.  3  :  *  establish/  '  make 
firm/  Jerome  has  sustenta.  The  “  gressus  ”  include  the  whole 
conduct  of  life.  Vestigia,  feet,  rather  than  foot-prints.  The  foot- 
prints  would,  of  course,  show  whither  the  feet  had  strayed.  In 
Hebrew  parallelism  gressus  and  vestigia  are  practically  equivalents. 
Moveri,  ‘  waver/  ‘  vacillate/  There  must  be  no  hesitation  in  moral 
and  religious  action. 

6.  He  calls  on  God  again,  because  he  is  sure  of  a  hearing.  Inclina, 
etc.  :  notice  the  repetition  of  the  invocation  of  verse  1. 

7.  Mirifica,  ‘  show  forth  wondrously  !  ’  He  asks  God  to  give  him 
a  striking  proof  of  His  graciousness  [misericordia) ,  as  He  has  often 
done  for  those  who  seek  refuge  (so,  Hebrew)  in  Him. 

8.  The  ‘  right  hand  ’  is  the  power  or  authority  of  God.  Against 
the  adversaries  of  that  authority  the  psalmist  prays  for  help.  God 
must  guard  him  as  a  man  would  guard  the  pupil  of  his  eye. 

The  shade  of  God’s  wings  reminds  one  of  the  picture  in  Matt.  xxiii. 
37.  Cf.  Exod.  xix.  4  ;  Ruth  ii.  12. 

9.  A  facie — connect  with  preceding ;  '  Protect  me  from  the 

godless  who  surround  me  and  harass  me/  Animam  meam= me. 

10.  Adipem  concluserunt,  *  they  have  shut  up  their  fat  heart/ 
i. e.,  they  have  entrenched  themselves  in  callousness. 

Superbiam,  haughtily ;  Cf.  loqui  mendacium  (Ps.  v.  6)  ;  loqui 
sapientiam  (xlviii.  4),  and  other  similar  expressions,  in  which  the 
Vulgate  uses  the  abstract  noun  instead  of  an  ad  verb. 

11.  The  Vulgate  here  is  difhcult,  and  the  Hebrew  makes  difficulties 
also.  The  translation  given  above  takes  projicientes  me  as,  ‘  casting 
me  down  to  earth/  Having  overthrown  their  victim,  the  enemies 
stand  around  him  threateningly.  The  phrase  oculos  suos,  etc.,  means. 


56 


THE  PSALMS 


according  to  Hebrew,  ‘  they  watch  eagerly  for  a  suitable  chance  to 
cast  me  headlong/ 

12.  The  enemy  compared,  as  often,  to  a  beast  of  prey.  The  Vulgate 

differs  somewhat  from  the  Greek  here.  The  Greek  has  :  ‘  They 

thought  of  me  as  a  lion  thinks  of  its  prey  ’ ;  Hebrew  :  ‘  They  are 
like  the  lion  that  longs  for  prey,  and  the  young  lion  that  lurks  in 
the  lair/ 

13.  This  is  the  third  appeal. 

Prcevenire,  *  go  to  meet  him/  with  the  implied  sense,  ‘  forestall 
him/  Supplanta,  overthrow. 

Animam  meam,  my  life. 

14.  The  interpretation  of  this  verse  is  a  somewhat  hopeless  task. 
Frameam  tuam  of  verse  13  apparently  should  be  read  with  both 
verses.  ‘  Snatch  (eripe)  Thy  sword  from  the  foes  of  Thy  power/ 
But  how  can  the  sword  of  the  Lord  be  thought  of  as  in  the  hands  of 
His  foes  ?  The  thought  is,  possibly,  that  the  godless  enemies  of  the 
psalmist  ha  ve  been  used  by  the  Lord  as  the  sword  of  His  chastisement 
against  the  psalmist.  Now  the  psalmist  would  ask  that  the  godless 
be  no  longer  thus  employed  ( cf .  Bellarmine  in  loc.).1 

It  is  possible  to  take  frameam  tuam  as  per  frameam  tuam 
(so,  perhaps,  Hebrew).  The  sense  would  be,  then  :  *  Rescue  my  life  ; 
rescue  it  by  Thy  sword  from  the  foes  of  Thy  power/  Augustine’s 
equating  of  anima  and  framea  does  not  help. 

What  follows  is  stili  more  difficult.  The  pauci  de  terra  ha  ve  been 
taken  as  the  godless,  materialistic,  earth-loving  foes  of  the  psalmist 
(as  in  translation  above)  ;  they  have  also  been  taken  as  the  lowly 
ones,  the  servants  of  the  Lord.  In  the  second  view  the  text  is  ex- 
plained  :  separa  nmltitudinem  impiorum  a  pusillo  grege  tuo  .  .  .  etiam 
in  prcesenti  [vita]  :  so  Bellarmine.  But  this  gives  no  explanation  of 
de  terra,  and  the  conte xt  of  the  psalm  does  not  suggest  that  the  pauci 
are  the  lowly  friends  of  God.  Hitherto  the  psalmist  has  spoken  of 
himself  alone.  It  seems,  then,  better  to  take  pauci  de  terra  as 
descriptive  of  the  godless.  Pauci  is  then  contemptuous  :  ‘  those 
contemptible  ones,  so  earthly  in  their  views,  who  think  themselves 
so  great/ 

Divide  eos  is  a  further  difbculty.  It  must  mean  :  ‘  set  the  godless 
apart  as  a  marked  body,  as  Thy  clearly  marked  foes  '  (or,  perhaps, 
*  assign  them  their  lot  ').  In  vita  eorum,  ‘  even  while  they  stili  live/ 
Their  punishment  must  come  in  time  for  themselves  and  all  to  see  it. 
This  brings  us  away,  of  course,  from  the  Hebrew,  but  some  reasonable 
view  of  the  Vulgate  text  is  indispensable. 

De  absconditis  tuis,  etc.  The  reference  here  again  is  to  the  enemies 
of  the  psalmist.  Hence  the  abscondita  are  not  the  stored  up  treasures 


1  Some  commentators  think  that  David  here  speaks  of  himself  as  the  Sword 
of  Yahweh. 


57 


A  PRAYER  FOR  JUSTICE 

of  God’s  mercies,  but  rather  the  hitherto  restrained  chastisements  of 
His  anger.  ‘  Let  their  longings  be  sated  (here  sarcastic)  with  the 
treasures  of  Thy  anger  !  ’  Nor  are  their  chastisements  confined  to 
themselves  ;  they  will  be  tortured  also  in  their  children,  and  what 
the  fathers  ha  ve  not  fully  endured,  or  that  in  which  their  punishment 
has  not  been  full,  will  be  left  as  an  inheritance  to  their  sons.  The 
Greek  reading,  Ixoprao-^o-av  vetuv  represented  in  the  Vetus  Itala  by 
saturati  sunt  porcina,  suggests  also,  possibly,  the  idea  of  chastisements 
rather  than  that  of  wallowing  in  lustful  pleasures.  It  seems  to  be 
very  reasonable  to  take  the  whole  verse  14  as  descriptive  of  chastise¬ 
ments  to  be  bome  by  the  evil-doers,  the  enemies  of  the  psalmist, 
and  by  their  sons. 

15.  The  psalmist 's  lot  will  be  very  different  :  He  will  see  the 
face  (Hebrew — not,  ‘  appear  before  the  face  ’)  of  God  because  of 
his  innocence,  and  he  will  be  sated  when  he  awakes  (from  death) 
by  the  vision  of  God.  The  Vulgate  would  give  the  sense  more 
accurat ely  if  it  read  satiabor  cum  exsurgerim.  It  is  possible,  however, 
to  refer  the  '  awaking  ’  to  the  Lord,  as  is  implied  in  the  Latin  [apparere 
is  due  to  the  reverence  of  the  Greek  translator,  who  substituted 
opOrivai  for  Hebrew  hakis),  and  then  to  translate  ‘  I  shall  be  sated 
at  Thy  awakening  (when  Thou  dost  bestir  Thyself  to  help  me),  with 
the  vision  of  Thee/  It  is,  however,  much  simpler  to  take  the  awaken¬ 
ing  as  the  act  of  the  psalmist,  sin  ce  we  then  ha  ve  here  a  ciear  state- 
ment  of  confident  hope  of  immortality.  Jerome  renders  13-15  thus  : 
Surge,  domine,  prczveni  faciem  ejus,  incurva  eum  :  salva  animam  meam 
ab  impio,  qui  est  gladius  tuus,  a  viris  manus  tucv,  domine,  qui  mortui 
sunt  in  profundo,  quorum  pars  in  vita,  et  quorum  de  absconditis  tuis 
replesti  ventrem :  qui  saturabuntur  filiis,  et  dimittent  reliquias  suas 
parvulis  eorum.  Ego  in  justitia  videbo  faciem  tuam :  implebor,  cum 
evigilavero,  similitudine  tua.  This  translation  is  suggestive  enough 
of  the  obscurity  of  the  passage. 


PSALM  XVII 


A  SONG  OF  THANKSGIVING  AND  TRIUMPH 


THE  royal  poet  will  sing  a  song  of  heartfelt  praise  and  thanks 
for  the  special  favours  and  mercies  which  God  has  granted 
to  him.  He  has  been  rescued  from  many  perils,  and  raised 
to  the  highest  honours.  In  verses  2-7  we  have  a  sort  of 
summary  of  the  psalm.  The  poet  was  in  extreme  perii  through  the 
plotting  of  his  foes  :  he  called  on  the  Lord  for  help  and  was  rescued. 
In  verses  8-20  he  describes  the  manner  of  his  rescue.  In  a  thunder- 
storm  the  Lord  came  down,  and  overwhelmed,  and  scattered  his 
enemies.  In  verses  21-25  we  are  told  that  the  merciful  intervention 
of  the  Lord  was  due  to  the  poets  piety,  and  loyalty  to  God’s  Law  ; 
for  (as  is  shown  in  verses  26-31)  to  the  pious  God  showeth  favour, 
and  dealeth  out  mercy.  Once  more  (verses  32-46)  the  singer  returns 
to  what  God  has  done  for  him.  He  has  protected  him  in  battle, 
smitten  his  foes,  and  humbled  strange  peoples  beneath  his  rule.  The 
poem  closes  (verses  47-51)  with  the  solemnly  expressed  resolution  of 
the  psalmist  to  praise  his  Lord  among  the  gentiles. 

This  poem  appears  also  in  II  Kings,  xxii,  as  a  poem  of  David. 
Though  the  text  of  II  Kings  xxii,  differs  in  a  number  of  small  points 
from  the  psalm-text,  it  is  obviously  the  same  poem  as  the  one  we 
have  here.  The  Davidic  origin  of  Psalm  xvii  is  thus  assured  in  a 
very  satisfactory  fashion.  Internally  the  poem  points  to  such  an 
author  as  David.  The  poet  is  a  general,  and  a  king,  and  a  victorious 
leader,  who  subdues  peoples  hitherto  unknown  to  Israel.  Ali  this 
suits  David  better  than  any  other  king  of  Israel.  The  description 
of  the  coming  of  God  in  the  thunderstorm  reminds  one  of  Hebrew 
poetry  of  the  most  ancient  period  ( cf .  Judges  v.  4,  5,  and  the  Song 
of  Deborah  generally).  We  may,  therefore,  confidently  accept  the 
Davidic  authorship  of  this  poem.  The  circumstances  of  its  composi- 
tion  (verse  1)  are  described  in  II  Kings,  xxii,  in  the  same  way  as  here. 


1.  In  finem  puero  Domini 
David,  qui  locutus  est  Domino 
verba  cantici  hujus,  in  die,  qua 
eripuit  eum  Dominus  de  manu 
omnium  inimicorum  ejus,  et  de 
manu  Saul,  et  dixit : 


1.  For  the  choir-leader :  by  the  servant  of 
the  Lord,  David,  who  chanted  to  the  Lord 
the  words  of  this  song  on  the  day  when  the 
Lord  rescued  him  from  the  power  of  ali  his 
foes,  and  from  the  power  of  Saul.  And  he 
said  : 


2.  Diligam  te  Domine  fortitu-  2.  I  love  Thee,  O  Lord,  my  Strength  ! 
do  mea  : 


58 


A  SONG  OF  THANKSGIVING 


3.  Dominus  firmamentum  3. 

meum,  et  refugium  meum,  et 
liberator  meus. 

Deus  meus  adjutor  meus,  et 
sperabo  in  eum. 

Protector  meus,  et  cornu  salu¬ 
tis  meae,  et  susceptor  meus. 

4.  Laudans  invocabo  Domi-  4. 

num  :  et  ab  inimicis  meis  salvus 

ero. 

5.  Circumdederunt  me  do-  5. 

lores  mortis  :  et  torrentes  ini¬ 
quitatis  conturbaverunt  me. 

6.  Dolores  inferni  circumdede-  6. 

runt  me  :  praeoccupaverunt  me 
laquei  mortis. 

7.  In  tribulatione  mea  invo-  7. 
cavi  Dominum,  et  ad  Deum  me¬ 
um  clamavi  : 

Et  exaudivit  de  templo  san¬ 
cto  suo  vocem  meam  :  et  cla¬ 
mor  meus  in  conspectu  ejus,  in¬ 
troivit  in  aures  ejus. 

8.  Commota  est,  et  contre-  8. 

muit  terra  :  fundamenta  monti¬ 
um  conturbata  sunt,  et  commota 
sunt,  quoniam  iratus  est  eis. 

9.  Ascendit  fumus  in  ira  ejus  :  9. 

et  ignis  a  facie  ejus  exarsit :  car¬ 
bones  succensi  sunt  ab  eo. 


10.  Inclinavit  coelos,  et  de-  10. 
scendit :  et  caligo  sub  pedibus 
ejus. 

11.  Et  ascendit  super  Cheru-  11. 
bim,  et  volavit :  volavit  super 
pennas  ventorum. 

12.  Et  posuit  tenebras  latibu-  12. 

Ium  suum,  in  circuitu  ejus 
tabernaculum  ejus :  tenebrosa 
aqua  in  nubibus  aeris. 

13.  Prae  fulgore  in  conspectu  13. 
ejus  nubes  transierunt,  grando 

et  carbones  ignis. 

14.  Et  intonuit  de  coelo  Do-  14. 
minus,  et  Altissimus  dedit  vo¬ 
cem  suam  :  grando  et  carbones 
ignis. 

15.  Et  misit  sagittas  suas,  et  15. 
dissipavit  eos  :  fulgura  multi¬ 
plicavit,  et  conturbavit  eos. 

16.  Et  apparuerunt  fontes  16. 
aquarum,  et  revelata  sunt  fun¬ 
damenta  orbis  terrarum  : 

Ab  increpatione  tua  Domine, 
ab  inspiratione  spiritus  iras  tuae. 


The  Lord  is  my  stay  and  my  refuge,  and 
my  Saviour. 

My  God  is  my  helper,  and  in  Him  I  set 
my  hope. 

He  is  my  protector  and  the  horn  of  my 
safety. 

And  my  guardian. 


With  praises  I  call  011  the  Lord, 

And  I  am  saved  from  my  foes. 

Pains  of  death  pressed  upon  me, 

And  torrents  of  misfortune  disrnayed 
me. 

The  woes  of  the  underworld  girt  me 
round  ; 

And  the  bonds  of  death  enmeshed  me. 

In  my  misery  I  called  on  the  Lord  ; 

And  to  my  God  I  cried. 

And  He  heard  from  His  Sacred  Palace 
my  voice  ; 

And  my  cry  came  before  Him,  even 
unto  His  ears. 


The  earth  tottered  and  quaked  : 

The  foundations  of  the  mountains  were 
a-trembling  and  a-quivering, 

For  He  was  angry  with  them. 

The  smoke  of  His  anger  rose  up. 

And  from  His  face  fire  was  enkindled ; 
Glowing  coals  burned  forth  from  Him. 


He  lowered  the  heavens  and  (He  Himself) 
came  down  ; 

And  darkness  was  around  His  feet. 

He  mounted  the  Cherubs  and  flew  ; 

And  sped  on  the  wings  of  the  storm. 

Darkness  He  made  His  shroud  ; 

Round  about  Him  was  His  tent — 
Dark  waters  of  the  clouds  of  heaven. 


Before  the  brightness  of  His  face  the 
clouds  passed  away. 

Hail  and  burning  coals  ! 

And  from  heaven  thundered  the  Lord 

And  the  Most  High  let  His  voice  re- 
sound. 

Hail  and  burning  coals  ! 

And  He  sent  His  arrows  and  scattered 
them  ; 

He  multiplied  His  thunderbolts  and 
disrnayed  them. 

The  springs  of  the  deep  appeared  ; 

And  the  foundations  of  the  world  were 
laid  bare, — 

Because  of  Thy  chiding,  O  Lord  ! 

Because  of  the  breath  of  Thy  wrath. 


6o 


THE  PSALMS 


17.  Misit  de  summo,  et  ac-  17 
cepit  me  :  et  assumpsit  me  de 
aquis  multis. 

18.  Eripuit  me  de  inimicis 
meis  fortissimis,  et  ab  his  qui 
oderunt  me  :  quoniam  confor¬ 
tati  sunt  super  me. 

19.  Praevenerunt  me  in  die 
afflictionis  meae  :  et  factus  est 
Dominus  protector  meus. 

20.  Et  eduxit  me  in  latitu¬ 
dinem  :  salvum  me  fecit,  quo¬ 
niam  voluit  me. 


He  reached  out  from  Heaven  and  grasped 
me  ; 

And  drew  me  forth  from  the  multi- 
tudinous  waters. 

He  saved  me  from  my  powerful  foes, 

And  from  those  that  hate  me  ;  for  they 
had  become  too  powerful  for  me. 

19.  They  had  fallen  on  me  in  the  day  of  my 

misfortune  ; 

But  the  Lord  became  my  Protector, 

20.  And  led  me  out  into  an  open  place,  and  set 

me  in  security, 

For  He  held  me  dear. 


18. 


21.  Et  retribuet  mihi  Domi-  21. 
nus  secundum  justitiam  meam, 

et  secundum  puritatem  manuum 
mearum  retribuet  mihi  : 

22.  Quia  custodivi  vias  Do-  22. 
mini,  nec  impie  gessi  a  Deo  meo. 

23.  Quoniam  omnia  judicia 

ejus  in  conspectu  meo :  et  23. 
justitias  ejus  non  repuli  a  me. 

24.  Et  ero  immaculatus  cum  24. 
eo  :  et  observabo  me  ab  iniqui¬ 
tate  mea. 

25.  Et  retribuet  mihi  Do¬ 
minus  secundum  justitiam  me¬ 
am  :  et  secundum  puritatem 
manuum  mearum  in  conspectu 
oculorum  ejus. 

26.  Cum  sancto  sanctus  eris, 
et  cum  viro  innocente  innocens 
eris  : 

27.  Et  cum  electo  electus  eris  : 
et  cum  perverso  perverteris. 

28.  Quoniam  tu  populum  hu¬ 
milem  salvum  facies  :  et  oculos 
superborum  humiliabis. 

29.  Quoniam  tu  illuminas  lu¬ 
cernam  meam  Domine  :  Deus 
meus  illumina  tenebras  meas. 

30.  Quoniam  in  te  eripiar  a 
tentatione,  et  in  Deo  meo  trans¬ 
grediar  murum. 

31.  Deus  meus  impolluta  via 
ejus  :  eloquia  Domini  igne  ex¬ 
aminata  :  protector  est  omnium 
sperantium  in  se. 


The  Lord  dealt  with  me  according  to  my 
justice  ; 

And  according  to  the  cleanness  of  my 
hands  He  did  repay  me. 

For  I  did  keep  the  ways  of  the  Lord, 
And  did  no  evil  to  bring  me  away  from 
God. 

For  all  His  laws  were  before  my  eyes  ; 

And  His  decrees  I  put  not  from  me  ; 
And  stainless  I  stood  before  Him, 

And  kept  myself  from  my  sin  : 


25.  And  the  Lord  dealt  with  me  according  to 
my  justice, 

And  according  to  the  cleanness  of  my 
hands  before  His  eyes. 


26.  Towards  the  pious  Thou  art  gracious  ; 

And  towards  the  upright  Thou  dost 
act  uprightly. 

27.  With  the  just  Thou  dealest  justly  ; 

And  with  the  treacherous  Thou  dealest 
craftily. 

28.  For  Thou  rescuest  a  lowly  people, 

But  arrogant  eyes  Thou  humblest. 

29.  For  Thou  dost  make  my  light  to  shine, 

O  Lord  ; 

My  God,  enlighten  my  darkness  ! 

30.  For  through  Thee  I  am  saved  from  attack ; 

And  through  my  God  I  leap  over  a  wall. 

31.  The  dealings  of  my  God  are  beyond  re- 

proach  ; 

The  words  of  the  Lord  are  tested  by 
fire  ; 

He  is  the  Guardian  of  all  who  put  their 
trust  in  Him. 


32.  For  who  is  God  but  the  Lord  ? 
Or  who  is  God  but  our  God  ? 


32.  Quoniam  quis  Deus  prae¬ 
ter  Dominum  ?  aut  quis  Deus 
praeter  Deum  nostrum  ? 

33.  Deus  qui  praecinxit  me  33. 
virtute  :  et  posuit  immaculatam 
viam  meam. 


God  it  is  who  has  girt  me  with  strength. 
And  made  my  way  stainless  : 


A  SONG  OF  THANKSGIVING 


61 


34.  Qui  perfecit  pedes  meos  34. 
tamquam  cervorum,  et  super 
excelsa  statuens  me. 

35.  Qui  docet  manus  meas  ad  35. 
praelium  :  et  posuisti,  ut  arcum 
aereum,  brachia  mea. 

36.  Et  dedisti  mihi  protectio-  36. 
nem  salutis  tuae  :  et  dextera  tua 
suscepit  me  : 

Et  disciplina  tua  correxit  me 
in  finem  :  et  disciplina  tua  ipsa 
me  docebit. 

37.  Dilatasti  gressus  meos  su-  37. 
btus  me  :  et  non  sunt  infirmata 
vestigia  mea  : 

38.  Persequar  inimicos  meos,  38. 

et  comprendam  illos  :  et  non 
convertar,  donec  deficiant. 

39.  Confringam  illos,  nec  po-  39. 
terunt  stare :  cadent  subtus 
pedes  meos. 

40.  Et  praecinxisti  me  virtute  40. 
ad  bellum  :  et  supplantasti  in¬ 
surgentes  in  me  subtus  me. 

41.  Et  inimicos  meos  dedisti  41. 

mihi  dorsum,  et  odientes  me 
disperdidisti. 

42.  Clamaverunt,  nec  erat  qui  42. 
salvos  faceret,  ad  Dominum : 

nec  exaudivit  eos. 

43.  Et  comminuam  eos,  ut  43. 

pulverem  ante  faciem  venti :  ut 
lutum  platearum  delebo  eos. 

44.  Eripes  me  de  contradi-  44. 

ctionibus  populi  :  constitues  me 

in  caput  Gentium. 

45.  Populus,  quem  non  cogno-  45. 
vi,  servivit  mihi  :  in  auditu  auris 
obedivit  mihi. 

46.  Filii  alieni  mentiti  sunt  46. 

mihi,  filii  alieni  inveterati  sunt, 

et  claudicaverunt  a  semitis  suis. 


47.  Vivit  Dominus,  et  bene-  47. 
dictus  Deus  meus,  et  exaltetur 
Deus  salutis  meae. 

48.  Deus,  qui  das  vindictas  48. 
mihi,  et  subdis  populos  sub  me, 
liberator  meus  de  inimicis  meis 
iracundis. 

49.  Et  ab  insurgentibus  in  me  49. 
exaltabis  me  :  a  viro  iniquo 

,  eripies  me. 


Who  hath  made  my  feet  like  those  of  the 
stag, 

And  set  me  on  the  high  places  : 

Who  hath  trained  my  hands  for  battle, 
And  made  my  arms  like  an  iron  bow. 


Thou  didst  give  me  the  shield  of  Thy  help. 
And  Thy  right  hand  did  guard  me  ; 
And  Thy  teaching  hath  set  me  right 
indeed, 

And  Thy  teaching  hath  trained  me. 

Thou  hast  made  free  my  stride  ; 

And  my  feet  ha  ve  not  failed. 

I  pursued  my  enemies  and  overtook  them  ; 
I  turned  not  back  till  they  were 
destroyed. 

I  smote  them,  and  they  could  not  stand  ; 
They  feli  beneath  my  feet. 


For  Thou  didst  gird  me  with  strength  for 
battle  ; 

And  didst  overthrow  those  who  rose  in 
revolt  against  me. 

And  my  enemies  Thou  didst  turn  from 
me  in  flight ; 

And  them  that  hated  me  Thou  didst 
scatter. 

They  cried,  but  there  was  none  to  save 
them — 

To  the  Lord,  but  He  heard  them  not. 

And  I  scattered  them  like  dust  before  the 
breeze  ; 

Like  mire  in  the  streets  I  swept  them 
away. 

Thou  didst  save  me  from  the  contendings 
of  the  people  ; 

Thou  didst  set  me  up  as  head  of  nations: 

A  people  whom  I  knew  not  became  my 
slave  ; 

At  the  very  mention  of  my  name  it  made 
submission  to  me. 

The  children  of  the  stranger  paid 
flattering  court  to  me. 

The  children  of  the  stranger  waned  in 
strength  ; 

And  limped  away  from  their  paths. 

The  Lord  liveth,  and  blessed  be  my  God  ; 

And  praised  be  my  rescuing  God  ! 

The  God  who  giveth  me  vengeance, 

And  subdueth  nations  unto  me  : 

My  Saviour  from  my  raging  foes  ! 

Above  those  who  revolt  against  me 
Thou  dost  raise  me. 

And  from  the  godless  Thou  dost  save 
me. 


62 


THE  PSALMS 


50.  Propterea  confitebor  tibi  50. 
in  nationibus  Domine  :  et  no¬ 
mini  tuo  psalmum  dica  a, 

51.  Magnificans  salutes  regis  51. 
ejus,  et  faciens  misericordiam 
Christo  suo  David,  et  semini 

ejus  usque  in  saeculum. 


Therefore,  I  praise  Thee  among  the 
nations,  O  Lord  ! 

And  sing  a  hymn  to  Thy  name. 

For  Thou  art  He  that  giveth  mighty  help 
to  the  king, 

And  showeth  kindness  to  His  anointed, 
David,  and  to  his  seed  for  ever. 


2,  3.  The  Hebrew  is  more  poetic  :  ‘  My  Rock,  my  Fortress,  my 
Deliverer,  my  God,  my  Strong  Tower  to  which  I  flee,  my  Shield, 
and  Horn  of  my  victory,  my  Stronghold  !  '  The  Greek  (followed 
by  Vulgate)  has  toned  down  the  boldness  of  the  epithets. 

Cornu  salutis.  The  horn  symbolises  strength.  God  was  the 
mighty  source  of  the  help  which  saved  him.  (So,  too,  the  altar 
of  God  was  equipped  with  horns,  by  grasping  which  a  man  con- 
demned  to  death  could  secure  asylum.) 

Susceptor =protector.  C/.  Ps.  iii.  4  ;  ix.  10. 

4.  In  Hebrew  the  sense  seems  to  be  :  ‘  Praised  be  Yahweh  ! 

I  cry  !  ’  Thus  Laudans  should  he  Laudandus.  ‘  Mehullal  Yahweh  * 
was  DavkFs  battle  cry. 

5,  6.  For  the  “  dolores  mortis  ”  the  parallel  Hebrew  text  in  Kings 
has  ‘  billows  of  death/  which  would  suit  better  the  parallel 
torrentes  iniquitatis.  In  verse  6  the  dolores  inferni,  when  taken 
in  parallelism  with  laquei  mortis,  make  a  strange  impression.  The 
Hebrew  hebhle  was  taken  by  the  Greek  translators  as,  ‘  pains/  or 
‘  pangs  ' ;  but  it  could  be  taken  also  as  ‘  ropes  '  or  ‘  cords  '  (cf.  Ps. 
xvi.  b).  In  verse  6  the  meaning  ‘  cord  '  or  *  thong  ’  is  the  only  one 
possible.  In  verse  5  the  parallel  text  in  II  Kings,  xxii,  reads  :  the 
breakers  (or  billows)  of  death/  The  Vulgate  of  II  Kings,  xxii.  5,  6, 
reads  :  Quia  circumdederunt  me  contritiones  mortis,  torrentes  Belial 
terruerunt  me.  Funes  inferni  circumdederunt  me,  prcevenerunt  me 
laquei  mortis.  We  may,  therefore,  understand  ‘  breakers  of  death  ' 
in  verse  5  and  *  bonds  of  the  unclerworld  '  in  verse  6.  In  verse  5  the 
reference  is  to  Sheol,  the  Hebrew  underworld,  thought  of  after  the 
manner  of  the  abyss  ;  the  torrentes  Belial  are  the  streams  of  the 
underworld  (cf.  Job.  xxvi.  5).  In  verse  6  death  is  pictured  as  a 
hunter  from  whose  noose  or  snare  the  psaimist  hardly  escaped. 
The  psaimist  will  convey  in  his  picturesque  way  that  death  was 
menacingly  near  to  him. 

7.  The  “  palace  '  is  the  heavenly  palace — not  the  Temple. 

8.  The  verses  8-16  are  a  fine  description  of  the  thunderstorm 
by  which  the  Lord  dismayed  the  foes  of  the  psaimist. 

Commota,  etc. :  the  earth  seems  to  tremble  in  the  gathering  storm. 
There  may  be  present  here  the  idea  of  an  earthquake  also.  More 
tlran  any  other  phenomenon,  an  earthquake  would  symbolise  the 
anger  of  God.  The  very  pillars  of  earth,  the  foundations  of  the 
mountains,  trembled  at  the  anger  of  the  Lord. 


A  SONG  OF  THANKSGIVING 


63 

9.  The  smoke  corresponds  to  the  dense  thunder-clouds  of  the 
gathering  storm.  The  Hebrew  reads  :  ‘  Smoke  went  up  from  His 
nostrils.'  The  picture  is  taken  from  animals  snorting  with  fury 
[cf.  Job  xli.  12)  ;  the  thunder-clouds  are  the  smoke  of  anger  which 
rises  from  the  nostrils  of  God.  The  carbones  are,  perhaps,  the  fiery 
borders  of  the  clouds.  The  devouring  fire  is,  obviously,  some  form 
of  lightning. 

10.  The  heavens  seem  to  settle  down  over  the  earth  in  the  deep- 
descending  storm-clouds.  The  ‘  darkness  '  about  the  feet  of  God  is 
another  waj^  of  describing  the  dark  density  of  the  clouds. 

11.  A  description  of  the  storm  of  wind  which  accompanied  the 
thunder-storm.  The  cherubs  seem  here  to  mean  the  swiftly  racing 
clouds  which  are  the  winged  steeds  of  God's  chariot. 

12.  The  rain-storm  which  burst  out  of  the  lowering  heavens. 
God’s  throne  is  shut  up  in  a  canopy  of  dark  streaming  clouds. 

13.  The  thought  seems  to  be  that  the  tent-wall  of  dark  drifting 
cloud,  from  which  rain-torrents  streamed,  was  broken  from  time 
to  time,  and  through  the  rift  shone  for  an  instant  the  flashing  glories 
of  God's  throne.  The  breaking  through  of  the  tent-wall  of  cloud 
seems  to  mean  the  fleeing  of  the  clouds  before  the  lightnings.  Thus 
the  lightnings  would  be  nothing  more  than  flashes  from  the  dazzling 
brightness  which  surrounded  the  throne  of  God. 

Grando  et  carbones  ignis  ! — an  exclamation  of  wonder  :  *  Hail  and 
glowing  coals  together  !  '  So  also  in  verse  14.  With  the  storm  of 
thunder,  rain,  and  wind,  there  went  also  a  mighty  hail-storm. 
Cf.  the  storm  which  overwhelmed  the  enemies  of  Joshua  (Jos.  x, 
especially  verse  11). 

14.  Thunder  is  the  voice  of  God,  for  the  Hebrew.  ‘  Most  High  ’ 
is  an  ancient  name  of  God.  Cf.  story  of  Abraham  and  Melchisedech 
the  latter  is  a  priest  of  ‘  God,  Most  High  '  (Gen.  xiv). 

15.  The  arrows  are  the  lightnings. 

16.  The  foundations  of  earth  are  the  bed  of  the  sea.  The  storm 
is  thought  of  as  lashing  the  oceans  into  mountain-waves,  between 
which  the  ocean-floor  stands  bare. 

Ab  inspiratione  spiritus  ira  tua,  ‘  at  the  fierce  breath  of  Thy 
wrath.' 

17.  God  has  reached  out  His  hand,  and  snatched  him  from  the 
waters — the  sea  of  perii  in  which  he  was  sinking. 

18.  The  foes  had  grown  too  powerful  [super  me)  for  him.  The 
preposition  super  is  often  used  to  express  comparison  (Hebrew,  min) _ 
Cf.  Ps.  xviii.  11,  desiderabilia  super  aurum,  dulciora  super  mei.  ; 
Ps.  1.  9,  super  nivem  dealbabor. 

19.  In  die  afflictionis,  in  the  time  of  his  misfortune. 

Pravenerunt  is  here  used  in  a  hostile  sense. 

20.  As  sorrow  implies  constraint,  so  gladness  is  symbolised  by 
open  spaces  and  freedom  of  mo vernent,  and  great  length  of  stride. 


THE  PSALMS 


64 

Cf.  Ps.  cxvii.  5  :  exaudivit  me  in  latitudine  Dominus  ;  cxviii.  45  : 
Ambulabam  in  latitudine.  . 

21.  The  reasons  which  moved  God  to  help  the  psalmist.  Clean- 
ness  of  hands  is  a  symbol  of  moral  integrity.  The  palms  of  the 
hands  were  held  open  towards  heaven  in  prayer. 

22-23.  The  vice,  judicia  and  justitiae  are  the  laws  of  God,  which  the 
psalmist  claims  to  ha  ve  observed. 

24.  Immaculatus,  stainless,  without  defect  in  his  attitude  towards 
God,  and  God’s  Law.  The  “ero  ”  suggests  merely  habitual  action, 
whether  in  past,  present  or  future. 

Observabo,  ‘  guard  myself  from/  The  mea  in  iniquitate  mea  is 
redundant  :  ‘  I  will  keep  myself  from  sin/  not,  *  from  my  wonted 
sin/ 

26-28.  The  policy  of  God.  He  deals  with  men  as  they  deal  with 
Him.  Towards  a  pious  one  He  shows  Himself  gracious,  towards 
an  upright  {innocens)  man  He  shows  Himself  just,  towards  the 
straightforward  He  shows  Himself  straightforward  [electus)  ;  but  to 
the  cunning  He  shows  Himself  crafty.  It  is  a  quaint  application,  in 
a  sense,  of  the  Lex  talionis.  God  treats  every  man  according  to  his 
deserts.  To  the  impious  the  punishment  which  God  sends,  appears 
unfair  and  treacherous. 

28.  Quoniam  seems  to  mean  ‘  surely.’ 

Humilis,  ‘  oppressed/  Oculi  superborum,  proud  eyes  ;  cf.  Ps. 
cxxx.  1,  where  elati  oculi  are  paralleled  with  exaltatum  cor. 

29.  Thou  lightest  my  lamp,  i. e.,  Thou  makest  me  to  prosper. 
But  the  thought  is  suggested  that  prosperity  is  due  to  following 
God’s  guidance  and  doing  His  will.  Hence  the  second  half  of  the 
verse.  Cf.  Ps.  cxviii.  105,  Lucerna  pedibus  meis  verbum  tuum ;  cf 
also  the  text,  John  xi.  9. 

30.  Transgrediar  murum,  leap  over  the  wall,  that  defends  a 
city,  i. e.  take  it  by  storm. 

31.  The  words  of  God  are  tried  and  tested,  like  silver  refined. 
They  may,  therefore,  be  relied  on  wholly. 

Deus  meus  is  here  an  absolute  nominative — an  imitation  of  the 
Hebrew.  The  eloquia  are  the  oracles  and  promises  of  God. 

32.  Who  is  God  but  the  Lord,  i. e.  Yahweh,  the  God  of  Israel. 
‘  Who  is  God  but  Yahweh  ?  ' 

33.  He  is  the  God  who,  etc.  Posuit= made.  The  ‘  way '  is  the 
manner  of  living. 

34.  The  point  of  comparison  is  swiftness — an  important  quality 
in  warriors  of  ancient  times.  The  “  heights  ”  are  the  solitudes  where 
the  stag  wanders  at  will. 

36.  Protectio  salutis  tuce,  *  Thy  saving  (rescuing)  help/  Suscepit 
=protects.  The  disciplina  is  the  Law  of  the  Lord.  In  finem=con- 
stantly,  ever.  The  phrase,  Et  disciplina,  etc.,  is  due  to  the  incor- 
poration  in  the  text  of  Theodotion’s  rendering  beside  that  of  the 
Septuagint. 


A  SONG  OF  THANKSGIVING 


.65 

57.  The  long  strides  would  betoken  strength  and  untrammelled 
freedom.  The  text  means  :  ‘  Thou  hast  widened  the  paths  which 
my  feet  do  tra verse/  The  vestigia  will  not  move  here  and  there 
uncertainly,  but  will  mark  a  straight  and  steady  path. 

38-43  describe  DavkTs  successful  campaigns  against  the  hostile 
nations  round  about  Israel. 

41.  Inimicos  dedisti  dorsum,  ‘  Thou  didst  turn  them  in  flight 
before  me/  Dorsum=terga. 

42.  The  enemies  of  David  called  on  Yahweh  for  help.  Are  the 
enemies  here  spoken  of,  Israelite  enemies  ? 

43.  Delebo — Hebrew  :  *  I  will  pour  them  out/ 

44.  The  ‘  contendings  of  the  people  *  would  seem  to  mean  the 
internal  troubles  of  David’s  kingdom,  including  the  rebellion  of 
Absalom. 

45.  Foreign  peoples  which  had  heard  of  the  greatness  of  David’s 
kingdom,  offered  themselves  to  him  as  vassals.  The  mere  mention 
of  his  name  sufhced  to  terrify  them. 

46.  The  foreigners  mentiti  sunt,  i. e.,  offered  flattering  or  forced 
homage — homage,  therefore,  which  was  not  sincere.  They  waned 
( inveterati  sunt)  before  DavkTs  power,  and  hobbled  away  helplessly 
from  their  usual  paths.  The  Hebrew  implies  that  they  limped  out 
tremblingly  from  their  castles  to  offer  their  submission  to  David. 

48.  Vindictas,  vengeance. 

50.  This  is  difhcult  to  understand  in  the  mouth  of  David.  It 
is  not  impossible  that  we  ha  ve  to  reckon  here,  and  in  the  following 
verse,  with  a  liturgical  addition  to  the  psalm. 

51.  Magnificans,  etc.  (God)  who  performs  many  and  wondrous 
deeds  of  rescue,  and  shows  unceasing  kindness  to  His  anointed — the 
king.  Christo = uncto  :  Hebrew,  mashiah. 


5 


PSALM  XVIII 


THE  GLORY  OF  GOD  IN  THE  HEAVENS 

AND  IN  THE  LAW 


THE  glory  of  God,  as  shown  in  the  heavens,  and  revealed  in 
the  Law,  is  the  theme  of  this  psalm.  The  first  part  of 
the  poem  (1-7)  deals  with  the  glory  of  God  which  is  un- 
ceasingly  hymned,  in  words  intelligible  to  ali,  by  the  hosts 
of  heaven — the  glory  which  each  hour  of  the  day  and  of  the 
night  displays  in  ever-changing  splendour,  the  glory  which  is  seen 
most  fully  in  the  sun,  the  greatest  of  the  wondrous  beings  which  God 
has  set  in  the  heavens.  From  one  end  of  heaven  to  the  other  speeds 
the  great  sun,  penetrating  all  things  with  his  fiery  glow. 

The  second  part  of  the  psalm  (8-15)  deals  with  that  glory  of  God 
which  the  Law  displays.  The  Law  is  pure  and  clean  :  it  brightens 
the  eyes,  and  quickens  the  soul ;  to  follow  it  means  rich  reward. 
May  the  Lord  forgive  the  singer  his  sins  of  frailty,  save  him  from  the 
godless,  and  receive  graciously  the  words  of  his  song  ! 

The  two  parts  of  the  poem  fall  naturally  enough  together.  To 
the  brilliant  fiery  ball  of  the  sun  that  lights  up  and  vivifies  the  world, 
corresponds  the  Law  that  gives  brilliancy  to  the  eyes  and  quicken- 
ing  to  the  soul.  The  transition  from  the  first  part  to  the  second  is, 
however,  abrupt,  and  the  two  parts  differ  great ly  in.  metrical 
structure.  Possibly  the  first  part  is  older  than  the  second.  It  is 
possible  that  an  ancient  song  of  God’s  glory  in  nature,  and,  perhaps, 
a  fragment  of  a  poem  on  the  sun,  were  taken  to  form  a  preface  to  a 
poem  on  the  Law.  The  wondrous  glory  shown  in  the  starry  heavens 
and  the  mighty  sun  would  form  a  htting  counterpoise  to  the  glory 
of  the  moral  Law. 

The  author  of  the  psalm  is,  according  to  the  title,  David.  If 
the  view,  that  there  are  here  fragments  of  ancient  poetry  used  as 
a  prelude  to  a  poem  on  the  Law,  is  true,  David  can  stili  be  the 
author  of  the  poem  as  it  stands.  It  is  objected,  however,  against 
Davidic  authorship,  that  the  attitude  of  reflection  on,  and  respect 
for,  the  Law  shown  in  the  second  part  is  far  more  natural  in  the 
post-Exilic,  than  it  would  have  been  in  the  Davidic  period. 

1.  In  finem.  Psalmus  David.  1.  For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of  David. 


2.  Caeli  enarrant  gloriam  Dei,  2. 
et  opera  manuum  ejus  annun¬ 
tiat  firmamentum. 


(ist  part) 

The  heavens  teli  the  glory  of  God  ; 

And  the  firmament  publisheth  the 
work  of  His  hands. 


66 


THE  GLORY  OF  GOD  IN  THE  HEAVENS  67 


3.  Dies  diei  eructat  verbum,  3. 
et  nox  nocti  indicat  scientiam. 

4.  Non  sunt  loquelae,  neque  4. 
sermones,  quorum  non  audian¬ 
tur  voces  eorum. 

5.  In  omnem  terram  exivit 
sonus  eorum  :  et  in  fines  orbis 
terrae  verba  eorum. 


6.  In  sole  posuit  tabernacu-  6. 
Ium  suum :  et  ipse  tamquam 
sponsus  procedens  de  thalamo 

suo  : 

Exsultavit  ut  gigas  ad  cur¬ 
rendam  viam, 

7.  a  summo  coelo  egressio  7. 

ejus  : 

Et  occursus  ejus  usque  ad 
summum  ejus  :  nec  est  qui  se 
abscondat  a  calore  ejus. 

8.  Lex  Domini  immaculata  8. 

convertens  animas  :  testimoni¬ 
um  Domini  fidele,  sapientiam 
praestans  parvulis. 

9.  Justitiae  Domini  rectae,  Ise-  9. 

tificantes  corda :  praeceptum 
Domini  lucidum  ;  illuminans 
oculos. 

10.  Timor  Domini  sanctus,  10. 

permanens  in  saeculum  saeculi  : 
judicia  Domini  vera,  justificata 

in  semetipsa. 

1 1 .  Desiderabilia  super  aurum  1 1 . 
et  lapidem  pretiosum  multum  : 

et  dulciora  super  mei  et  favum. 

12.  Etenim  servus  tuus  custo-  12. 

dit  ea,  in  custodiendis  illis  re¬ 
tributio  multa.  , 

13.  Delicta  quis  intelligit  ?  13. 

ab  occultis  meis  munda  me  : 

14.  Et  ab  alienis  parce  servo  14. 
tuo. 

Si  mei  non  fuerint  dominati, 
tunc  immaculatus  ero  :  et  emun¬ 
dabor  a  delicto  maximo. 

15.  Et  erunt  ut  complaceant  15. 
eloquia  oris  mei  :  et  meditatio 
cordis  mei  in  conspectu  tuo 
semper. 

Domine  adjutor  meus,  et  re¬ 
demptor  meus. 


Day  unto  day  declareth  the  message  ; 
And  night  unto  night  revealeth  the 
knowledge. 

It  is  neither  speech  nor  discourse, 

The  sound  of  which  may  not  be  heard. 


In  the  sun  God  hath  set  up  His  tent ; 
And  he,  like  a  bridegroom  coming  forth 
from  the  bridal  chamber, 

Exulteth  like  a  hero  when  he  entereth 
on  his  path. 

On  the  one  boundary  of  heaven  is  his 
rising, 

And  his  course  is  unto  the  other. 
There  is  not  one  who  can  hide  himself 
from  his  glow. 

(2nd.  part) 

The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect — 
Soul-quickening  : 

The  Lord’s  command  is  trustworthy — 
Giving  insight  to  the  simple  : 

The  ordinances  of  the  Lord  are  just — 
Heart-rejoicing  : 

The  precept  of  the  Lord  is  luminous — 
Eye-illuminating  : 

The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  holy — 
Ever-abiding. 

The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true — 
Altogether  just : 

More  to  be  treasured  than  gold, 

And  many  a  precious  stone  ; 

Sweeter  than  honey  and  the  (dripping) 
honey-comb. 

Thy  servant  doth  keep  them  : 

For  their  keeping  there  is  huge  reward. 

Who  can  know  (one’s)  offences  ? 

Cleanse  me  from  my  secret  faults. 

And  from  the  proud  keep  Thou  Thy 
servant  far  : 

If  they  do  not  rule  over  me, 

Then  I  shall  be  stainless  and  stand  free 
from  heinous  sin. 

Let  the  words  of  my  mouth. 

And  the  thoughts  of  my  heart, 

Find  favour  before  Thee  ever,  O  Lord, 
My  Helper  and  Rescuer  ! 


5.  Over  the  whole  earth  goeth  the  sound  of 
them, 

And  even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth 
(reach)  their  words. 


2.  The  Hebrew  uses  here  for  God  'EI,  not  Yahweh  :  the  glory  is 
one  that  ali  men  see.  C/.  Ps.  viii,  and  Ps.  ciii.  In  the  second  part* 


68 


THE  PSALMS 


where  the  reference  is  to  the  glory  of  God  shown  in  the  Mosaic  Law, 
we  find  the  name  Yahweh. 

Opera  manuum  tuarum,  ‘  what  Thou  canst  do/  Thy  power. 

3.  The  hymn  of  praise  is  unending.  Day  and  night  are  the 
daily  and  nightly  heavens,  each  phase  of  which  is  a  song  of  the 
Creator’s  praise.  The  ‘  word  *  of  praise,  and  the  message  of  the 
4  knowledge  '  of  God  which  day  communicates  to  day,  and  night 
to  night,  is  unceasing.  The  discourse  of  day  and  night  is  like  the 
flow  of  an  ever-bubbling  fountain  [eructat). 

4.  The  hymn  of  heaven’s  praise  is  not  such  that  men  of  many 
races  may  not  understand  it  ;  it  is  voiced  in  a  speech  that  every 
man  can  understand.  No  one  who  has  eyes  to  see  the  heavens  day 
and  night,  can  fail  to  comprehend  their  message.  Eorum  is  re¬ 
dundant  (Hebrew  idiom).  The  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  Neither  language, 
nor  words — Their  voice  is  not  heard/  The  Latin  seems  to  em- 
phasise  the  clearness  of  the  utterance,  the  Hebrew  to  insist  on  its 
inaudibility.  Some  commentators  have  found  in  the  Hebrew  a 
reference  to  the  harmony  of  the  spheres — which  only  the  poet  can 
hear. 

5.  As  far  as  earth  extends,  and  the  borders  of  the  firmament 
reach,  the  glory  of  the  heavens  may  be  seen,  and  its  f  word  '  under- 
stood.  The  Hebrew  is  different  here,  but  the  Vulgate  gives  a  better 
text.  (Note  the  application  of  this  verse  to  the  Apostolic  preaching 
in  Rom.  x.  18.) 

6.  The  sun  is  taken  as  the  chief  representative  of  heaven.  The 
Hebrew  would  read  (as  Jerome  has  it)  :  Soli  posuit  tabernaculum 
in  eis,  ‘  He  hath  set  up  for  the  sun  his  dwelling  in  them  '  (in  the 
heavens).  The  Vulgate  says  that  God  has  set  up  His  own  tent  in 
the  sun,  i. e.  God’s  glory  and  majesty  are  peculiarly  manifested  in  the 
sun.  The  Hebrew  hero  was,  of  necessity,  swift  of  foot.  The  com- 
parison  of  the  sun  emerging  from  the  east,  with  the  bridegroom 
coming  forth  from  the  nuptial  chamber,  suggests  the  freshness  and 
brilliancy  of  the  sun.  One  can  well  imagine  with  what  awestruck 
wonder  the  Hebrews  must  have  watched  the  splendid  course  of  the 
eastern  sun  from  its  resting  place  in  the  purple  of  the  hilis  of  Moab 
and  Bashan  through  the  glow  of  its  midday  power,  to  its  golden-red 
setting  in  the  sea  beyond  Jaffa  or  Carmel.  The  poet  thinks  of  the 
sun  as  passing  the  night  in  its  royal  tent  near  the  eastern  skies.  A 
heathen  poet  might  have  spoken  of  the  sun-disc  as  the  divinity  ;  but 
the  Hebrew  poet  says  only  that  the  sun  reflects  the  glory  of  God,  and 
that  God  has  given  the  sun  its  dwelling  (Hebrew),  or  made  His  own 
dwelling  in  the  sun  (Vulgate). 

A  summo  coelo  :  from  one  end  of  heaven  ;  ad  summum  ejus — to 
the  other. 

8.  The  4  Law '  is  the  whole  complex  of  the  teaching — moral, 
religious  and  ceremonial,  of  the  Old  Testament.  It  is  the  guidance 


♦ 


THE  GLORY  OF  GOD  IN  THE  HEAVENS  69 

and  revelation  contained  in  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  With 
this  second  part  of  the  poem  should  be  compared  Psalm  cxviii.  Here, 
as  there,  many  synonyms  are  used  for  the  ‘  Law  *• — lex,  testimonium , 
justitice,  prceceptum,  timor  Dei.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  con- 
trast  between  the  delight  in  the  ‘  Law,’  which  this  psalm  describes, 
and  the  joylessness  of  those  who  were  borne  down  by  the  yoke  of  the 
Law  in  the  New  Testament  period  ( cf .  Roms.  vii  ;  Gals.  iii  ;  Acts  xv. 
10  ;  Matt.  xxiii.  4,  etc.,  etc.).  The  ‘  Law  '  of  the  New  Testament 
period  contained  too  much  of  human  admixture,  too  many  traditiones 
patrum. 

The  metre  in  this  second  part  is  the  so-called  Kinah  or  elegiae 
metre.  Each  line  consists  of  a  long  half  followed  by  a  short.  The 
first  half  of  each  line  says  what  the  Law  is  in  itself ;  the  second 
describes  its  effect  in  human  experience. 

Convertens  animas,  Hebrew  :  ‘  soul-refreshing/ 

Fidele,  well  established  and  trustworthy.  Sapientiam  preestans 
parvulis  :  the  parvuli  are  the  simple  and  untaught.  For  these  the 
Law  takes  the  place  of  man’s  wisdom,  since  it  gives  them  sure  insight 
into  the  true  philosophy  of  life.  Cf.  the  “  little  ones  ”  of  Our  Lord 
(Matt.  xi.  25  ;  xviii.  1-6). 

9.  Lucidum  ;  Hebrew  :  ‘  pure/  ‘  ciear  from  all  defect/ 

Illuminans  oculos  :  suggesting  gladness  and  certainty  of  guidance. 

Cf.  Ps.  cxviii.  105,  130  :  Lucerna  pedibus  meis  verbum  tuum  .  .  .  . 
declaratio  sermonum  tuorum  illuminat.  Cf.  Ephes.  i.  18  :  illuminatos 
oculos  cordis  vestri.  Cf.  also  the  idea  expressed  in  Ps.  xii.  4. 

10.  Instead  of  ‘  timor  Dei  *  a  slight  emendation  of  Hebrew  would 
give  ‘  verbum  Dei.’  Reading  timor  we  must  explain,  *  that  which 
leads  one  to  fear  the  Lord/  i. e.  the  Law. 

Justificata  in  semetipsa  means,  according  to  Hebrew,  ‘  complet ely 
vindicated/  i. e.  as  active  in  human  life. 

In  semetipsa  translates  iahdau,  which  is  elsewhere  represented 
by  in  idipsum  (Ps.  xxxiii.  4;  lxi.  10;  iv.  9,  etc.).  It  means  ‘  alto- 
gether/  *  completely/ 

11.  Aurum,  the  Hebrew,  paz,  pure  gold — the  topazion  of  Ps.  cxviii. 
12 7.  *  Multum  is  an  adjective  ;  the  law  is  more  to  be  sought  after 
than  even  a  great  store  of  precious  stones. 

Favum  :  Jerome  has  :  favum  redundantem.  The  Hebrew  implies 
what  drops  from  the  honeycomb. 

12.  Etenim  does  not  introduce  a  reason  :  it=‘  indeed/ 

Retributio  is  the  reward  of  the  faithful  observance  of  the  Law. 

13.  The  Hebrew  reads  :  ‘  Sins  of  inadvertence  ’  (, Shegi’oth ) — *  who 
giveth  thought  to  them  ?  From  hidden  (sins)  do  Thou  cleanse  me/ 
In  the  Law  (cf.  Leviticus  iv.  2)  the  Shcgi’oth  (Vulgate  ignorantia ; 
Hebrew,  Shegagah)  are  offences  committed,  in  inadvertence,  against 
the  Law — particularly  against  the  ceremonial  Law.  Such  sins  could 
be  atoned  for  by  a  sacrifice  when  the  offender  realised  that  he  had 


70 


THE  PSALMS 


committed  them.  Obviously  a  man  might  offend  often  against 
cult-laws,  and  other  laws,  with  sucti  an  inadvertence  or  unconscious- 
ness  that  no  hint  or  reminder  ever  afterwards  would  avail  to  recall 
him  to  a  sense  of  guilt.  For  offences  thus  altogether  unknown  and 
forgotten  there  could  be  no  sacrificial  atonement,  and  for  pardon 
of  them  there  could  be  no  hope  except  in  the  mercy  of  God.  The 
delicta  are  such  sins  as  are  afterwards  remembered  :  the  occulta 
are  those  of  which  one  never  becomes  conscious. 

14.  The  alienis  are  not  the  ‘  sins  of  others/  but  the  ‘  proud/ 
The  Sept.  read  here  in  the  Hebrew  zarim  instead  of  zedim,  and  the 
Vulgate  has  followed  the  Greek.  Alieni  means  proud  or  insolent 
enemies  (cf.  Ps.  liii.  5  ;  cviii.  11,  and  the  filii  alieni  of  Ps.  xvii.  46). 
The  “  proud/’  or  the  "  enemies,”  are  those  who  profess  to  despise 
the  Law — those  worldly-minded  ones  with  whom  a  pious  observer 
of  the  Law  might  not  safely  associate  (cf.  Ps.  cxviii.  21).  If  such 
men  do  not  succeed  in  gaining  power  over  him,  the  psalmist  will  be 
able  to  stand  with  a  ciear  conscience  before  the  Lord,  and  with  the 
confidence  that — apart  from  the  occulta — he  is  not  stained  with  the 
guilt  of  any  great  offence  against  the  Law  of  the  Lord. 

15.  The  psalmist  here  prays  that  the  words  of  his  poem  may  be 
found  pleasing  to  God.  The  meditatio  cordis  is  the  inner  side  of  the 
eloquia  oris.  The  poet  is  conscious  that  he  has  expressed  very 
valuable  thoughts  in  very  beautiful  form. 


PSALM  XIX 

A  PRAYER  FOR  THE  KING  WHEN  HE 
GOES  FORTH  TO  BATTLE 


THIS  is  a  prayer  for  the  king  as  he  marches  out  to  battle.  The 
time  is  a  dies  tribulationis — a  season  of  bitter  need.  Before 
the  royal  army  marches  forth,  sacrifice  is  offered  in  the 
Temple  (or  Sanctuary),  and  prayers  for  the  king’s  safety  and 
success  are  sung.  The  psalm  which  we  have  here  is  obviously  a 
prayer  sung  after  the  offering  of  sacrifice  for  the  king’s  success. 
It  is  possible  to  suppose  that  verses  1-7  were  sung  by  a  choir  of 
priests.  A  single  voice  takes  up  verses  7&-10,  and  all  the  assembly 
joins  in  the  petition  at  the  end,  hoshi‘ah  hammelekh — ‘  Keep  safe  the 
king  !  '  The  army  is  small  (verses  8,  9),  but  its  confidence  in  God  is 
strong,  and  in  this  confidence  it  will  conquer. 

The  psalm  is  ascribed  to  David.  For  the  custom  of  offering 
sacrifice  before  engaging  in  battle,  cf.  I  Kings  xiii.  9  ff.  It  is  not 
easy  to  determine  the  identity  of  the  king  for  whose  success  the  poem 
is  sung.  The  psalm  is  certainly  of  the  monarchical  period,  and  if 
David  is  its  author,  he  must  be  also  the  king  to  whom  it  refers.  Un- 
less,  as  Cyril  of  Alexandria  and  Theodoret  suppose,  David  composed 
the  psalm  with  prophetic  vision  of  the  sorrows  of  some  later  king, 
such  as  Ezechias. 


1.  In  finem,  Psalmus  David.  1. 


2.  Exaudiat  te  Dominus  in  2. 

die  tribulationis :  protegat  te 

nomen  Dei  Jacob. 

3.  Mittat  tibi  auxilium  de  3. 

sancto  :  et  de  Sion  tueatur  te. 

4.  Memor  sit  omnis  sacrificii  4. 
tui  :  et  holocaustum  tuum  pin¬ 
gue  fiat. 

5.  Tribuat  tibi  secundum  cor  5. 
tuum  :  et  omne  consilium  tuum 
confirmet. 

6.  Lsetabimur  in  salutari  tuo  :  6. 

et  in  nomine  Dei  nostri  magni¬ 
ficabimur. 

7.  Impleat  Dominus  omnes  7. 
petitiones  tuas  : 


Nunc  cognovi  quoniam  sal¬ 
vum  fecit  Dominus  Christum 
suum. 


For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of  David. 
(Choir  of  Priests) 

May  the  Lord  hear  thee  in  time  of  trial : 
May  the  name  of  the  God  of  Jacob 
protect  thee  ! 

May  He  send  thee  help  from  the  Sanctu- 
ary, 

And  from  Sion  may  He  guard  thee  ! 
May  He  be  mindful  of  all  thy  offerings. 
And  may  thy  sacrifice  be  acceptable  ! 

May  He  grant  thee  thy  heart’s  desire. 
And  accomplish  all  thy  planning  ! 

We  shall  (then)  rejoice  in  thy  victory, 
And  boast  in  the  name  of  our  God. 

May  the  Lord  grant  all  thy  requests  ! 


(Single  voice) 

Now  I  know  that  the  Lord  keepeth  in 
safety  His  Anointed, 


7i 


72 


THE  PSALMS 


Exaudiet  illum  de  coelo  san¬ 
cto  suo  :  in  potentatibus  salus 
dexterae  ejus. 

8.  Hi  in  curribus,  et  hi  in 
equis :  nos  autem  in  nomine 
Domini  Dei  nostri  invocabimus. 

9.  Ipsi  obligati  sunt,  et  ceci¬ 
derunt  :  nos  autem  surreximus 
et  erecti  sumus. 


He  hears  him  from  out  His  holy  heaven ; 
In  deeds  of  might  is  the  rescue^of 
His  right  hand. 

8.  Some  put  their  trust  in  chariots,  others 

in  steeds, 

But  we  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  our 
God. 

9.  They  are  entangled,  and  fall, 

But  we  arise  and  hold  ourselves  erect. 


(Multitude) 

10.  Domine  salvum  fac  re-  10.  O  Lord,  do  Thou  keep  safe  the  king  ; 
gem  :  et  exaudi  nos  in  die,  qua  And  hear  us  when  we  call  on  Thee. 

invocaverimus  te. 


2.  The  dies  tribulationis  may  be  simply  the  day  of  battle. 

The  nomen  Dei  Jacob  would  be  a  protection,  since  the  king  would 
fight  for  the  glory  of  that  name.  Possibly  the  battle-cry  of  the  king 
would  include  the  divine  name.  Cf.  David's  battle-cry,  Mehullal 
Yahweh — Laudandus  Dominus,  Ps.  xvii.  4. 

3.  This  verse  seems  to  imply  that  the  Temple  was  already  on 
Sion.  It  excludes,  at  all  events,  the  time  of  Saul — for  Sion  was  not 
an  Israelite  sanctuary  till  the  days  of  David. 

4.  The  ‘  sacrifice  '  is  the  sacrifice  offered  on  this  occasion.  The 
sacrificium  is  here  the  minhah,  the  meal-offering  (or,  offering  in 
general).  The  holocaustum  is  the  burnt-offering.  Pingue,  '  fat  ' 
and  therefore,  acceptable.  The  Hebrew  may  be  translated  :  ‘  May 
He  make  {i. e.  declare,  recognise)  it  (the  holocaust)  fat/  i. e.  regard  it 
as  pleasing. 

5.  The  consilium  is  the  plan  of  the  royal  campaign. 

6.  We  shall  rejoice — in  salutari  tuo,  *  in  the  victory  given  to 
thee/  i. e.  to  the  king. 

Magnificabimur :  The  Hebrew  says,  ‘  and  we  shall  wave  banners/ 
i.e.  in  token  of  victory.  The  Sept.  read  negaddel ;  the  Massora 
nidgol.  Jerome  has,  ducemus  choros,  which  is  perhaps  based  on 
nagil,  ‘  let  us  rejoice/ 

7.  The  second  section  begins  in  verse  yb.  Apparently  the  voice 
of  a  single  singer  now  takes  up  the  chant.  Some  one  of  the  priests, 
seeing  by  some  token  that  the  offering  of  sacrifice  and  prayer  has 
been  accepted,  or  caught  by  a  prophetic  impulse,  declares  the  coming 
victory  of  the  king.  That  some  sign  of  the  Lords  favour  has  been 
seen  by  all.  or  shown  at  least  to  one,  is  ciear  from  the  emphasis  on 
*  now/ 

Potentatibus,  deeds  of  might.  In  Hebrew :  ‘  He  answers  him 
from  His  holy  heavens  with  rescuing  deeds  of  might  done  by  His 
right  hand/ 

Salus  should  be  salutis.  Jerome  translates  :  exaudiet  eum  .... 
in  fortitudine  salutis  dexterce  suce. 


A  PRAYER  FOR  THE  KING 


73 


8.  The  hi  and  hi  are  the  enemies.  Invocabunt  is  to  be  supplied 
with  in  curribus  and  in  equis.  Invocare  in  seems  to  mean  here  ‘  put 
one’s  trust  in/  It  reproduces  the  Hebrew  nazkir,  *  we  will  com¬ 
memorate/  The  Greek  tradi tion  is  not  hxed.  The  Psalt.  Rom. 
reads,  as  in  verse  5,  magnificabimur  (Hebrew  nagbir  ?).  The  Greek 
variants  represent  Hebrew  readings  nagbir ,  nazkir  and  nagil — ‘  We 
shall  boast  of  *  (or  be  strong  by),  ‘  we  shall  commemorate  '  (or  trust 
in),  and  ‘  we  shall  rejoice/  For  the  sentiment  here  expressed  cf. 
the  story  of  Gideon’s  army,  Judges  vii.  Cf.  also  Is.  xxx.  15.  Possibly 
‘  Beshem  Yahweh’  ‘  in  the  name  of  Yahweh/  was  to  be  used  as  a 
battle-cry  by  the  king.  But  there  may  be  nothing  further  suggested 
here  than  that  the  king  was  going  out  to  fight  the  battles  of  the 
Lord,  and  must,  therefore,  be  victorious.  There  can  be  no  sug- 
gestion  here  that  the  name  of  Yahweh  possessed  some  magical, 
talismanic  value. 

9.  Obligati,  bound  by  bonds  or  fetters.  The  Hebrew  has  :  '  they 
are  bowed  down  '  (Jerome  :  incurvati  sunt).  The  Greek  suggests 
the  idea  of  having  the  foe  bound  with  fetters.  The  fetters  would 
naturally  bring  about  a  fall.  The  sense  seems  to  be  that  those  who 
put  their  trust  in  material  equipment  for  battle  will  be  defeated. 

Sun  eximus  is  the  opposite  of  obligati  :■  we  who  had  been  fettered, 
as  it  were,  with  fear,  arise  (surreximus=surgimus) . 

Erecti  sumus  is  in  contrast  with  ceciderunt. 

10.  The  Latin  text  here  is  better  than  the  Hebrew.  The  whole 
gathering,  priests  and  peopie,  joins  in  this  prayer.  Possibly  the 
Hoshlah  {salvum  fac)  suggested  to  the  peopie  the  Hoshi‘ a-nah 
(Hosarfna)  so  often  sung  during  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles. 


PSALM  XX 


AFTER  THE  BATTLE 


AS  in  the  preceding  psalm  a  prayer  was  offered  for  the  kings 
success  in  battle,  so  here  we  have  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving 
for  the  victory  which  has  been  given  to  him.  We  have  the 
same  general  arrangement  here  as  in  Psalm  xix.  The  temple- 
ehoir  fervently  thanks  the  Lord  for  giving  to  the  king  the  attainment 
of  ali  his  pians,  and  for  granting  him  the  rich  fulness  of  honour  which 
naturally  folio ws  from  his  victories  (2-7).  A  single  voice  then  takes 
up  the  song,  and  prophesies  the  continuance  of  the  Lord’s  favour 
towards  the  king,  and  the  utter  defeat  of  all  the  king’s  foes  (8-13). 
As  in  Psalm  xix,  so  here,  the  last  verse  is  a  prayer  for  the  immediate 
and  energetic  help  of  the  Lord,  sung  by  the  whole  gathering — priests 
and  people. 

The  occasion  of  this  song  is  just  as  obscure  as  that  of  Psalm  xix. 
Obviously  this  psalm  could  be  used  in  the  Temple-services  which 
followed  military  campaigns  of  Hebrew  Kings  generally.  When  it 
was  first  sung  we  do  not  know.  It  must  be  dated  in  the  monarchical 
period.  If  David  is  the  king  referred  to,  the  psalm  must  be  dated 
some  short  time  subsequently  to  the  preceding.  (The  situation 
described  in  I  Par.  xx.  1-2  has  been  suggested  by  commentators.) 
The  thanksgiving  Service  for  a  Davidic  victory  could  not  be  celebrated 
in  the  Temple  ;  but  the  ceremonial  suggested  in  this  poem  could 
have  been  carried  out  in  the  Tabernacle  with  scarcely  less  solemnity 
than  in  the  Temple.  It  has  been  suggested  that  this  poem  was  really 
a  coronation-hymn — and  not  a  song  of  thanks  for  military  victories 
just  achieved.  The  hyperbole  of  verse  5 — ‘  life  for  e  ver  and  e  ver/ 
which  is  very  natural  in  an  Oriental  poem,  and  especially  in  an  Oriental 
poem  about  a  king,  has  sometimes  been  regarded  as  a  proof  that 
the  psalm  is  a  prophecy  of  the  Messianic  King,  and  His  coronation 
on  the  day  of  His  victory.  The  Targum  version  understands  the 
psalm  clearly  in  the  Messianic  sense.  It  is  to  be  noted,  however, 
that  the  Messianic  King,  as  summing  up  in  Himself  all  that  was  great 
and  glorious  and  victorious  in  every  King  of  Israel,  was  necessarily 
foreshadowed  by  every  great  ruler  among  the  Kings  of  Israel. 


1.  In  finem,  Psalmus  David.  1. 


2.  Domine  in  virtute  tua  lae-  2. 
tabitur  Rex  :  et  super  salutare 
tuum  exsultabit  vehementer. 


For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of  David. 
(Choir) 

O  Lord,  the  king  doth  rejoice  because  of 
Thy  power, 

And  because  of  Thy  help  he  greatly 
exulteth. 


74 


AFTER  THE  BATTLE 


3.  Desiderium  cordis  ejus  tri-  3. 
buisti  ei :  et  voluntate  labiorum 
«jus  non  fraudasti  eum. 


4.  Quoniam  praevenisti  eum 
in  benedictionibus  dulcedinis, 
posuisti  in  capite  ejus  coronam 
de  lapide  pretioso. 

5.  Vitam  petiit  a  te  :  et  tri¬ 
buisti  ei  longitudinem  dierum 
in  saeculum,  et  in  saeculum 
saeculi. 

6.  Magna  est  gloria  ejus  in 
salutari  suo :  gloriam  et  ma¬ 
gnum  decorem  impones  super 
eum. 

7.  Quoniam  dabis  eum  in 
benedictionem  in  saeculum  sae¬ 
culi  :  laetificabis  eum  in  gaudio 
cum  vultu  tuo. 


8.  Quoniam  Rex  sperat  in  8. 

Domino  :  et  in  misericordia 
Altissimi  non  commovebitur. 

9.  Inveniatur  manus  tua  9. 

omnibus  inimicis  tuis :  dex¬ 
tera  tua  inveniat  omnes,  qui 

te  oderunt. 


10.  Pones  eos  ut  clibanum 
ignis  in  tempore  vultus  tui : 
Dominus  in  ira  sua  conturbabit 
eos,  et  devorabit  eos  ignis. 

11.  Fructum  eorum  de  terra 

perdes :  et  semen  eorum  a 

filiis  hominum. 


12.  Quoniam  declinaverunt  in  12. 
te  mal  :  cogitaverunt  consilia, 

quae  non  potuerunt  stabilire. 

13.  Quoniam  pones  eos  dor-  13. 
sum  :  in  reliquiis  tuis  praepara¬ 
bis  vultum  eorum. 


14.  Exaltare  Domine  in  vir-  14. 
tute  tua  :  cantabimus  et  psalle¬ 
mus  virtutes  tuas. 


75 

What  his  heart  did  crave  for,  Thou  hast 
given  him, 

And  from  what  his  lips  besought  Thou 
hast  not  withheld  him. 


(Single  voice) 

For  the  king  puts  his  hope  in  the  Lord  ; 
And  because  of  the  graciousness  of  the 
Most  High  he  is  not  moved. 

May  all  Thy  enemies  feel  the  weight  of 
Thy  hand  : 

May  Thy  right  hand  reach  unto  all  who 
hate  Thee. 


For  they  sought  to  turn  evil  on  Thee  : 

They  planned  out  schemes  which  they 
could  not  carry  through. 

Thou  didst  turn  them  in  flight  by  those 
who  stood  by  Thee  ; 

Thou  aimest  at  their  face. 

(The  multitude) 

Arise,  O  Lord,  in  Thy  strength  ! 

We  will  praise  and  sing  Thy  deeds  of 
power. 


4.  For  Thou  camest  to  meet  him  with 

blessings  abundant ; 

On  his  head  hast  Thou  set  a  crown  of 
precious  gems. 

5.  Life  he  did  beg  of  Thee, 

And  life  prolonged  Thou  hast  given 
him — 

Life  for  ever  and  ever. 

6.  Great  is  his  renown,  because  of  Thy 

help ; 

Glory  and  honour  Thou  hast  set  on  his 
head. 

7.  For  Thou  makest  him  a  (source  of)  bless- 

ing  for  ever  ; 

"  Thou  dost  delight  him  with  gladness  by 
Thy  presence. 


10.  Thou  makest  them  a  furnace  of  fire 

When  Thy  anger  bursts  forth. 

[The  Lord  doth  destroy  them  in  His  anger, 
and  fire  doth  devour  them] . 

11.  Their  children  Thou  dost  exterminate 

from  out  the  land, 

And  their  offspring  from  among  men. 


2.  The  ‘  power  '  is  the  helping  strength  of  the  Lord.  The  ‘  salu¬ 
tare  '  is  the  help  which  the  Lord  has  sent.  Super  salutare  is  a 
construction  of  vulgar  Latin. 

3.  The  desiderium  is  the  secundum  cor  tuum  of  xix.  5. 

Voluntas  labiorum,  desire  expressed.  Fraudare,  refuse,  reject. 
Hebre w  :  ‘  Thou  hast  not  withheld.' 


76 


THE  PSALMS 


4.  Prcevenisti,  Thou  hast  come  to  meet  him.  Benedictionibus 
dulcedinis ,  most  sweet  blessings  (most  kind  and  gracious  favours). 

Coronam  :  by  his  victories  the  king  was,  as  it  were,  crowned 
once  more.  The  Hebrew  speaks  of  '  purest  gold  ’  instead  of  *  precious 
stone/  This  verse  it  is  that  has  led  some  commentators  to  see  in 
the  psalm  a  coronation-hymn.  (But  compare  I  Par.  xx.  1-2.) 

5.  For  the  Hebrews,  length  of  days  (i. e.  of  life)  was  regarded  as 
one  of  the  greatest  of  blessings.  Notice  the  phrasing  in  the  trans- 
lation.  There  is  no  great  contrast  intended  between  ‘  life  *  and 
‘  length  of  life  *  ;  no  doubt  it  was  the  latter  that  the  king  prayed 
for.  The  verse  says  merely  that  God  generously  answered  his  prayer. 

6.  This  is  to  be  taken  as  largely  hyperbole.  The  gloria  and 
honor  appear  usually  as  divine  qualities. 


Dabis  in  benedictionem,  either  ‘  Thou  wilt  make  him  a  source  of 
blessing  ’  for  others,  like  Abraham  (Gen.  xii.  2),  or,  ‘  Thou  wilt  make 
him  altogether  blessed  ’  (i. e.  successful).  This  second  meaning  is 
suggested  by  the  Old  Latin  rendering  dabis  ei  benedictionem.  Possibly 
the  true  sense  is  that  the  king  will  be  so  fortunate  that  his  name  will 
become  proverbial,  and  men  will  pray  for  blessings  like  to  those 
which  he  enjoyed. 


Cum  vultu  tuo  seems  to  mean,  through,  by  means  of,  Thy  presence. 
The  ‘  presence  '  is  the  consciousness  of  God’s  continual  assistance  ; 
the  ‘  delight  '  is  the  gladness  which  arises  from  the  sense  of  God’s 
helping  presence,  the  pleasure  of  living  in  the  full  light  of  God’s  face. 

8.  Here  the  soloist  takes  up  the  song.  The  king’s  trust  in  God 
is,  and  will  be,  the  real  ground  of  his  success. 

Non  commovebitur ,  shall  not  be  made  to  falter  and  fail. 

9.  The  king  is  here  addressed.  The  dative  ( inimicis )  is  here  used 
for  the  classi cal  ablative.  The  sense  is  :  ‘  May  none  of  thy  foes 
escape  thy  avenging  hand/  The  Hebrew  reads  :  ‘  May  thy  hand 


find  all  thy  foes/  which  expresses  the  same  idea. 

10.  Pones  eos  ut,  ‘  thou  shalt  make  them  ’  ;  the  ut  reproduces 
the  Hebrew  ke  which  is  often  used  with  verbs  implying  transforma- 
tion.  His  enemies  will  be  the  fuel  for  His  furnace  of  wrath. 

I  3§|| 

In  tempore  vultus  tui,  when  thou  dost  appear  [i. e.  in  thy  anger). 


Dominus  in  ira  sua,  etc.  This  unexpected  reference  to  the  Lord 
in  a  passage  addressed  to  the  king  is  suspicious,  and  many  critics 
are  disposed  to  omit  the  last  two  clauses  of  this  verse. 

11.  Their  *  fruit  ’  is  their  offspring.  A  filiis  hominum — so  that 
they  might  be  no  longer  numbered  among  men.  It  was  not  unusual 
in  tribal  wars  of  the  early  world  to  exterminate  the  males  of  a  con- 
quered  tribe. 

12.  Declinaverunt :  Jerome  has  :  inclinaverunt  super  te  malum  : 
they  set  their  hearts  to  bring  evil  on  him.  But  all  their  pians  failed, 
they  could  not  make  them  good  ( stabilire ). 

13.  ‘  Thou  didst  put  them  to  flight  ’  ( cf .  Ps.  xvii.  41).  In  reliquiis > 


AFTER  THE  BATTLE 


77 


as  it  stands  is  rather  hopeless.  Jerome  translates  :  funes  tuos 
firmabis  contra  facies  eorum,  understanding,  probably,  a  reference 
in  funes  to  the  string  of  a  bow  which  is  being  stretched  to  shoot 
arrows  at  the  face  of  the  foe.  In  reliquiis  is  due  apparently  to  the 
presence  in  the  Hebrew  text  read  by  the  Septuagint  translators  of 
ieter  instead  of  the  Massoretic  metarim  :  ieter  can  mean  both  the 
string  of  a  bow,  and  that  which  is  left,  or  remnant.  The  Sept.  trans- 
lation  followed  the  second  meaning.  The  translation  above  gives 
the  only  rendering  that  is  possible  here,  of  in  reliquiis,  viz.,  ‘  by  the 
surviving  troops  *  (or,  ‘  by  the  loyal  troops  ’)  of  the  king. 

PrcBparabis,  refers  to  the  aiming  of  the  arrows  suggested  by  the 
bow-strings  of  the  Massoretic  text. 

14.  A  general  prayer  of  the  assembly,  that  the  Lord  may  show 
His  strength,  so  that  Israel  may  continue  to  chant  His  glorious 
deeds  (virtutes). 


PSALM  XXI 

THE  JIJST  ONE  IN  DISTRESS 

THIS  psalm  is  clearly  Messianic.  It  reads  in  places  almost 
like  an  eye-witnesss  account  of  the  Crucifixion  of  Our 
Lord.  The  Gospels  put  the  hrst  words  of  this  psalm  in 
the  mouth  of  the  dying  Saviour,  and  we  may  assume  that 
the  thoughts  of  this  poem  passed  through  the  mind  of  Jesus  even 
when  His  lips  were  unable  to  form  the  words  of  it.  If  the  psalm  is 
Davidic,  it  is  rather  of  Christ  than  of  David  that  it  speaks.  The 
structure  of  the  poem  is  very  simple.  Verses  2-22  are  a  complaint 
and  a  prayer  ;  verses  23-32  are  praise  and  thanks.  The  hrst  part 
expresses  the  dreadful  loneliness  of  Christ  on  the  cross,  and  in  His 
cruel  agony  :  the  second  part  announces  the  fulfilment  of  Christ 's 
prayer,  that,  through  His  sorrows,  the  world  might  come  to  share  in 
His  triumph  ;  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  are  shown  hurrying  to  pay 
homage  to  the  God  of  Israel.  Here,  as  in  most  of  the  psalms  of  com¬ 
plaint,  there  is  a  strikingly  sudden  transit  ion  from  the  deepest  de- 
jection  to  the  most  triumphant  confidence. 

Modern  critics  are  inclined  to  regard  this  psalm  as  of  post-exilic 
origin.  For  these  critics  the  woes  of  the  psalmist  are  the  woes  of 
Israel  in  exile.  The  poem  must  be  the  story  of  a  nation's  sorrows, 
it  is  said,  sffice  all  the  world  will  not  turn  to  God  with  praise  because 
of  one  man’s  deliverance  ;  not  because  of  any  single  Israelite  can  all 
the  kings  of  earth  be  summoned  to  adore  the  God  of  Israel.  The 
Servant  of  the  Lord  in  Isaias  is  depicted  similarly  to  the  sufferer 
of  this  poem,  and  the  critics  who  identify  the  Servant  with  Israel  or 
some  section  of  Israel,  find  in  that  identification  a  reason  for  taking 
Psalm  xxi  as  referring  to  the  people  of  Israel  as  a  whole,  or  to  the 
most  faithful  section  of  the  Hebrew  Exiles.  It  is  true  that  the 
Messianic  meaning  of  a  psalm  is  not  excluded  by  the  immediate  and 
literal  reference  of  the  psalm  to  a  particular  historical  personage 
or  incident.  But  whatever  the  immediate  subject  of  this  psalm  may 
be — whether  David,  Ezechias  or  the  Israelite  nation,  as  has  been 
variously  conjectured — the  picture  which  it  puts  before  us  is  more 
true  of  Christ,  the  Crucified,  than  it  is  of  any  other  person — whether 
individual  or  national.  The  victory  of  Christ  is  reason  sufficient  to 
bring  all  nations  and  kings  of  earth  to  pay  homage  to  the  God  of 
truth. 


78 


THE  JUST  ONE  IN  DISTRESS 


79 


1.  In  finem  pro  susceptione  i. 
matutina,  Psalmus  David. 

2.  Deus,  Deus  meus  respice  2. 
in  me  :  quare  me  dereliquisti  ? 
longe  a  salute  mea  verba  de¬ 
lictorum  meorum. 

3.  Deus  meus  clamabo  per  3. 
diem,  et  non  exaudies :  et 
nocte,  et  non  ad  insipientiam 
mihi. 


4.  Tu  autem  in  sancto  habi-  4. 
tas,  laus  Israel. 

5.  In  te  speraverunt  patres  5. 
nostri  :  speraverunt,  et  liberasti 

eos. 

6.  Ad  te  clamaverunt,  et  6. 
salvi  facti  sunt :  in  te  spera¬ 
verunt,  et  non  sunt  confusi. 


For  the  choir-leader.  According  to  “  The 
Hind  of  the  Dawn.”  A  psalm  of 
David. 

O  God,  my  God,  look  Thou  upon  me  ; 
why  hast  Thou  abandoned  me  ? 

Remote  make  my  rescue  the  sins  which 
have  been  laid  on  me. 

My  God,  I  pray  in  the  day-time,  and  Thou 
payest  no  heed  ; 

And  in  the  night-time — but  not  for  my 
own  sin. 


Yet  Thou  dwellest  in  the  Holy  Place, 

Thou  theme  of  Israel’s  song  ! 

In  Thee  our  fathers  set  their  hope  ; 

They  hoped  and  Thou  didst  give  them 
freedom. 

To  Thee  they  cried,  and  they  were 
rescued  ; 

In  Thee  they  hoped  and  were  not  put 
to  shame. 


7.  Ego  autem  sum  vermis,  et  7. 
non  homo  :  opprobrium  homi¬ 
num,  et  abjectio  plebis. 

8.  Omnes  videntes  me,  de-  8. 
riserunt  me  :  locuti  sunt  labiis, 

et  moverunt  caput. 

9.  Speravit  in  Domino,  eri-  9. 
piat  eum  :  salvum  faciat  eum, 
quoniam  vult  eum. 

10.  Quoniam  tu  es,  qui  ex¬ 
traxisti  me  de  ventre  :  spes  mea 
ab  uberibus  matris  meae. 

11.  In  te  projectus  sum  ex 
utero  : 

De  ventre  matris  meae  Deus 
meus  es  tu, 

12.  Ne  discesseris  a  me  : 

Quoniam  tribulatio  proxima 

est :  quoniam  non  est  qui  ad¬ 
juvet. 

13.  Circumdederunt  me  vi¬ 
tuli  multi  :  tauri  pingues  obse¬ 
derunt  me. 

14.  Aperuerunt  super  me  os 
suum,  sicut  leo  rapiens  et 
rugiens. 

15.  Sicut  aqua  effusus  sum  : 
et  dispersa  sunt  omnia  ossa 
mea. 

Factum  est  cor  meum  tam¬ 
quam  cera  liquescens  in  medio 
ventris  mei. 

16.  Aruit  tamquam  testa  vir¬ 
tus  mea,  et  lingua  mea  adhaesit 
faucibus  meis  :  et  in  pulverem 
mortis  deduxisti  me. 


But,  as  for  me,  I  am  a  worm  and  not  a 
man, 

The  scorn  of  men  and  the  outcast  of 
the  people. 

Ali  those  who  see  me  laugh  me  to  scorn. 

With  their  lips  they  mock  me,  and  they 
wag  their  head,  [as  they  say]  : 

‘ '  He  hoped  in  the  Lord  ;  let  Him  set  him 
free, 

Since  He  finds  His  pleasure  in  him.” 


10.  For  Thou  indeed  art  He  who  didst  bring 

me  forth  from  the  womb  ; 

Thou  art  my  hope  from  my  mother’s 
breast. 

11.  On  Thee  was  I  cast  when  (I  was  taken) 

from  the  womb  ; 

From  the  womb  of  my  mother  Thou 
hast  been  my  God. 

12.  Depart  not  from  me,  for  sorrow  is  near,, 

.  For  there  is  none  (other)  to  give  help. 


1 3 .  Many  oxen  surround  me  ; 

Fat  bulls  besiege  me. 

14.  They  open  their  mouth  against  me, 

Like  a  rending  and  roaring  lion. 

15.  I  am  poured  out  like  water, 

And  ali  my  bones  are  separated. 
My  heart  has  become  like  wax 
That  melteth  within  me. 


16.  My  strength  is  dried  up  like  a  potsherd, 
And  my  tongue  cleaveth  to  my  palate  : 
And  thou  hast  brought  me  down  to  the 
dust  of  death. 


8o 


THE  PSALMS 


17.  Quoniam  circumdederunt  17. 
me  canes  multi  :  concilium  ma¬ 
lignantium  obsedit  me. 

Foderunt  manus  meas  et 
pedes  meos  : 

18.  Dinumeraverunt  omnia  18. 

ossa  mea. 

Ipsi  vero  consideraverunt  et 
inspexerunt  me  : 

19.  Diviserunt  sibi  vestimenta  19. 

mea,  et  super  vestem  meam 
miserunt  sortem. 

20.  Tu  autem  Domine  ne  20. 

elongaveris  auxilium  tuum  a 

me :  ad  defensionem  meam 

conspice. 

21.  Erue  a  framea  Deus  ani-  21. 
mam  meam  :  et  de  manu  canis 
unicam  meam : 

22.  Salva  me  ex  ore  leonis:  22. 
et  a  cornibus  unicornium  humi¬ 
litatem  meam. 


A  multitude  of  dogs  surrounds  me  : 

A  band  of  evildoers  encompasses  me  : 
They  dig  through  my  hands  and  feet. 

They  count  all  my  bones  ; 

They  gaze  on  me  and  examine  me. 

They  divide  among  them  my  garments. 
And  they  cast  lots  for  my  tunic. 


But  Thou,  O  Lord,  keep  not  Thy  rescue 
far  from  me  ; 

Look  down  and  help  me  ! 

Save  my  life,  O  God,  from  the  sword, 
And  my  “  sole  belonging  ”  from  the 
power  of  the  dogs  ! 

Save  me  from  the  mouth  of  the  lion. 

And  save  me,  lowly  one,  from  the 
horns  of  the  “  unicorn.” 


23.  Narrabo  nomen  tuum  fra-  23. 
tribus  meis  :  in  medio  ecclesiae 
laudabo  te. 

24.  Qui  timetis  Dominum,  24. 
laudate  eum  :  universum  semen 
Jacob  glorificate  eum. 

25.  Timeat  eum  omne  semen  25. 
Israel :  quoniam  non  sprevit, 
neque  despexit  deprecationem 
pauperis  : 

Nec  avertit  faciem  suam  a 
me  :  et  cum  clamarem  ad  eum, 
exaudivit  me. 

26.  Apud  te  laus  mea  in  ,ec-  26. 
clesia  magna  :  vota  mea  reddam 

in  conspectu  timentium  eum. 

27.  Edent  pauperes,  et  satu-  27. 
rabuntur :  et  laudabunt  Do¬ 
minum  qui  requirunt  eum  : 
vivent  corda  eorum  in  saeculum 
saeculi. 


I  will  teli  of  Thy  Name  among  my 
brethren, 

In  the  midst  of  the  Assembly  I  will 
praise  Thee. 

All  ye  who  fear  the  Lord,  praise  Him  ! 
All  you  seed  of  Jacob,  extol  Him  ! 

Let  all  the  seed  of  Israel  fear  Him  ! 

For  He  hath  not  despised,  nor  rejected 
The  prayer  of  the  poor. 

He  hath  not  hidden  His  face  from  me  : 
When  I  cried  to  Him  He  heard  me. 


For  Thee  is  my  song  in  the  great  As¬ 
sembly  ; 

My  vows  I  will  pay  in  the  sight  of 
those  who  fear  Him. 

The  poor  shall  eat  and  be  sated. 

And  they  shall  praise  the  Lord  who 
seek  Him  ; 

Their  hearts  shall  live  for  ever. 


28.  Reminiscentur  et  conver-  28. 
tentur  ad  Dominum  universi 
fines  terrae  : 

Et  adorabunt  in  conspectu 
ejus  universae  familiae  Gentium. 

29.  Quoniam  Domini  est  re-  29. 

gnum :  et  ipse  dominabitur 

Gentium. 

30.  Manducaverunt  et  adora-  30. 
verunt  omnes  pingues  terrae  : 

in  conspectu  ejus  cadent  omnes 
qui  descendunt  in  terram. 

31.  Et  anima  mea  illi  vivet:  31. 
et  semen  meum  serviet  ipsi. 


All  the  ends  of  the  earth  will  be  mind- 
ful  of  the  Lord, 

And  will  turn  to  Him  ; 

And  all  the  heathen  nations  shall  wor- 
ship  before  Him. 

For  the  Lord’s  is  the  Kingdom, 

And  He  will  rule  over  the  nations. 

The  mighty  ones  of  earth  will  eat  and 
do  homage  ; 

Before  Him  shall  bow  all  who  go  down 
to  the  dust. 

But  my  soul  shall  live  for  Him  ; 

And  my  children  shall  serve  Him. 


8i 


THE  JUST  ONE  IN  DISTRESS 


32.  Annuntiabitur  Domino  32. 
generatio  ventura  :  et  annuntia¬ 
bunt  coeli  justitiam  ejus  populo 
qui  nascetur,  quem  fecit  Domi¬ 
nus. 


Tidings  of  the  Lord  will  be  given  to  a 
race  that  is  to  come. 

The  heavens  will  teli  of  His  justice 
To  a  people  which  shall  arise,  which 
the  Lord  hath  fashioned. 


1.  The  title,  which  appears  in  Vulgate  as  pro  susceptione  matutina , 
is  in  Hebrew,  *  According  to  the  hind  of  the  dawn.’  This  was  perhaps 
the  name  of  the  ancient  melody  to  which  the  psalm  was  to  be  sung. 

2,  3.  Christ  recites  the  first  words  of  this  psalm  in  Aramaic  as  He 
hangs  on  the  cross.  He  must  ha  ve  understood  the  psalm  as  being 
a  prophecy  of  His  own  griefs. 

Longe  a  salute  mea,  etc.  As  Christ  had  done  no  sin,  the  delicta 
were  the  burden  of  our  sins,  which  He  took  on  Himself  :  the  idea  of 
vicarious  suffering  seems  to  be  clearly  expressed  in  the  following 
verse  :  et  non  ad  insipientiam  mihi.  The  verba  delictorum  are  not 
the  *  words  *  of  sin,  but  the  whole  affair,  the  whole  business  of  sin. 
It  was  this  which  stood  between  the  Just  One  and  His  deliverance. 
The  Hebrew  is  here  quite  different.  It  does  not  suggest  so  clearly 
the  thought  of  vicarious  suffering.  It  has  nothing  corresponding  to 
Respice  in  me.  It  reads  :  “  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken 
me  !  far  from  my  rescue  are  the  words  of  my  wailing  :  my  God,  I 
cry  in  the  day-time  and  Thou  answerest  not  ;  and  even  in  the 
night — and  there  is  no  silence(?)  for  me.”  Here  the  note  of  help- 
lessness  is  perhaps  stronger  than  in  the  Vulgate. 

4.  Hebrew  :  ‘  And  yet  Thou  art  the  Holy  One  that  thronest  on 
the  praises  of  Israel.’  The  neglect  of  the  singer  is  suggested  to  be 
out  of  harmony  with  the  holiness  of  the  Lord.  The  Vulgate  in 
sancto  must  be  taken  as  meaning  ‘  in  heaven.’  The  Vulgate  makes 
the  Lord  the  theme  of  IsraeTs  songs  of  praise  :  the  Hebrew,  more 
poetically,  represents  Him  as  enthroned  upon  the  songs  of  praise. 

5,  6.  Israel  hoped  in  the  past  and  not  in  vain.  Perhaps  now  also, 
God  will  help. 

7.  God  seems  indeed  to  have  utterly  abandoned  the  psalmist. 
The  nation  Israel  is  called  a  worm  in  Is.  xli.  14.  But  that  is  not  a 
convincing  reason  for  finding  here  a  picture  of  a  people,  rather  than 
of  an  individual.  What  follows  refers  most  naturally  to  an  individual. 

Opprobrium  hominum,  an  object  of  mens  contempt  ;  abjectio 
plebis,  a  thing  cast  away  by  the  people. 

8.  Locuti  sunt  labiis  represents  a  Hebrew  which  would  be  better 
translated  :  distendunt  rictum  in  labiis.  Jerome  has  dimittunt 
labium  ;  the  reference  is  to  some  sort  of  twisting  of  the  lips  as  a 
sign  of  contempt.  The  wagging  of  the  head  is  familiar  as  a  mark 
of  contempt. 

9.  The  words  are  spoken  by  the  mockers.  The  Hebrew  has  : 

4  Commi t  thyself  to  Yahweh.’  Quoniam  vult,  ‘  because  He  hath 

6 


82 


THE  PSALMS 


pleasure  in  him/  So  the  High  Priests  and  Scribes  mocked  Our  Lord  : 
Confidit  in  Deo  :  liberet  nunc,  si  vult  eum. 

10.  Quoniam,  ‘  yes,  indeed !  ’  It  is  true  that  the  psalmist  has 
at  all  times,  put  his  trust  in  God.  The  mockers  are  right  :  he  will 
go  on  trusting  in  the  Lord,  for  it  is  to  Him  that  he  owes  his  being, 
and  his  safety  up  to  the  present. 

Ab  uberibus,  etc.,  Hebrew  :  ‘  on  the  breasts  of  my  mother/ 

11.  The  reference  may  be  to  the  custom  of  placing  the  new-born 
babe  in  the  lap  of  the  father,  who,  by  receiving  it,  acknowledged  it 
as  his  own.  Cf.  Gen.  xxx.  3  ;  1.  22  ;  Job.  iii.  12. 

De  ventre,  since  the  time  when  I  was  in  the  womb. 

12.  A  bitter  cry  for  help.  The  sorrow  which  was  nigh  is  described 
in  the  following. 

13.  The  beasts  symbolise  the  various  enemies  of  the  psalmist. 
For  tauri  pingues  Hebrew  has  :  *  the  strong  ones  of  Bashan/  Bashan, 
the  mountain  district  in  the  north  of  the  East  Jordan  country,  was 
famous  for  its  pastures  and  its  cattle  {cf.  Amos  iv.  1).  It  has  let 
loose,  as  it  were,  its  fiercest  and  wildest  bulls  against  the  psalmist. 

14.  Aperuerunt,  i. e.  the  enemies  of  the  singer  (or  of  Christ). 

15.  The  ponring  out  implies  instability,  helplessness  ;  the  psalmist 
has  no  power  over  his  limbs  ;  he  is  limp  and  almost  paralysed. 

16.  It  has  been  proposed  to  read  fauces  mece  instead  of  virtus  mea. 
A  comparatively  slight  change  in  the  Hebrew  characters  would 
give  the  former  meaning.  But  the  change  is  not  necessary.  His 
vital  energy  is  quite  dried  up. 

17.  The  foes  are  now  symbolised  by  furious  dogs. 

Foderunt,  etc.  There  is  a  difference  here  between  Hebrew  and 
Vulgate,  but  the  Hebrew  is  unsatisfactory,  and  the  Vulgate  seems 
to  represent  a  better  text.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  there  is 
some  reference  here  to  crucifixion.  The  possibility  cannot  be  excluded 
that  in  verses  15-19  we  have  a  description  of  a  crucifixion  scene. 
Are  we  to  understand  the  hostility  of  the  enemies  as  showing  itself 
in  a  great  law-suit  against  the  psalmist  which  may  end  in  his  con- 
demnation  to  crucifixion  ?  If  the  enemy  are  judges  as  well  as 
accusers  the  ‘  digging  '  of  hands  and  feet  refers  clearly  to  crucifixion. 
Crucifixion  was  a  familiar  mode  of  execution  among  the  Persians, 
and  we  have  evidence  that  the  Persians  sometimes,  at  least,  nailed 
the  victims  to  the  cross.  We  know  practically  nothing  of  Hebrew 
methods  of  ‘  hanging  on  the  tree  ’ — so  that  the  possibility  of  a 
reference  to  a  nailing  of  a  criminal  to  a  cross  in  ancient  Hebrew 
li  terat  ure  cannot  be  denied. 

18.  The  body  of  the  sufferer  is  so  spent  and  worn  that  the  bones 
show  clearly  through.  Hebrew  has  the  first  person  for  dinumera¬ 
verunt  :  ‘  I  can  count  all  my  bones/ 

19.  The  reference  may  be  to  a  custom  of  dividing  the  victin/s 
garments  among  the  executioners  (Matt.  xxvii.  35).  The  vestimenta 


THE  JUST  ONE  IN  DISTRESS  83 

are  the  outer  garments  ;  the  vestis  would  be  the  tunic,  or  seamless 
robe  of  Christ  (John  xix.  24). 

21,  22.  The  anima  is  the  same  as  the  unica,  and  the  humilitas  ; 
his  *  lowly  *  life  is  the  sole  possession  which  the  sufferer  stili  holds. 

Unicornium  :  the  Hebrew  r**em  means  a  wild  bull,  or  perhaps, 
bison.  The  Old  Latin  translator  is  folio wed  here  by  Jerome.  There 
are  ancient  legends  about  monstrous  creatures  equipped  with  a 
single  horn  in  the  centre  of  the  forehead  (cf.  Aristotle  Partes  Animalium 
iii.  2p.  663*2,  etc.,  etc.  Caesar  Bell.  Gall.  vi.  26,  2  ;  and  elsewhere 
in  the  ancient  authors).  The  *  unicorn  ’  is  mentioned  again  in 
Ps.  xxviii.  6  ;  lxxvii.  69  ;  xci.  11  ;  Is.  xxxiv.  7  ;  in  ali  these  passages 
it  translates  Hebrew  re  em,  or  rem. 

23-25.  Notice  the  sudden  transition  to  confidence.  The  psalmist 
feels  that  his  cause  has  prevailed,  and  for  this  he  will  ever  thank 
the  Lord.  He  calls  on  ali  Israel  to  join  in  his  song  of  thanksgiving. 
Cf.  Hebrews  ii.  11-12  which  puts  verse  23  in  the  mouth  of  Christ. 

26.  Apud  te,  God  is  the  occasion,.  and  the  theme,  of  the  song. 

27.  Some  of  the  results  of  Christ 's  sufferings. 

28.  The  deliverance  of  Israel  will  bring  the  nations  to  the  Lord  : 
to  Israel  was  first  preached  the  glad  tidings  of  Christ ’s  redemption 
(Roms.  i.  16,  etc.) 

29.  The  universality  of  the  Messianic  kingdom. 

30.  Manducaverunt,  etc.  The  text  is  obscure  both  in  Hebrew 
and  Vulgate.  The  pingues  terree  are  the  great  ones  of  earth,  whether 
individuals  or  nations. 

Qui  descendunt  in  terram  are  those  who  go  down  to  the  grave 
(Hebrew  :  ‘  aphar=&v&t,  i.e.  the  dust  of  the  tomb) — that  is,  those 
who  must  die,  not  those  who  are  already  dead.  Manducaverunt  may 
be  taken  as  referring  to  the  future.  The  verse,  then,  may  be  under- 
stood  thus  :  the  powerful  ones  of  earth  shall  eat  of  the  victims  offered 
in  sacrifice  in  the  Temple  (or  of  the  banquet  of  the  Lord’s  Supper,) 
and  shall  offer  their  homage  to  God  :  those  also  who  are  in  misfortune 
and  doomed  to  a  speedy  deatli  shall  bow  down  before  the  Lord.  The 
whole  world  will  share  in  the  fruits  of  Christ  s  victory,  in  the  joy  of 
the  Messianic  age. 

31.  32.  Et  anima  mea  illi  vivit,  the  singer  will  live  to  celebrate 
the  glory  of  the  Lord.  The  Hebrew  is  :  ‘  And  whoso  is  unable  to 
keep  his  soul  alive  ’  ;  this  would  be  a  gloss  or  a  parallel  to  ‘  qui 
descendunt  in  terram / 

Annuntiabitur — de  Domino,  to  a  race  yet  unborn.  It  is  the 
justice  of  the  Lord  which  has  preserved  Israel ;  it  will  be  proclaimed 
to  peoples  whom  God  has  fashioned,  but  who  are  as  yet  unknown. 
[Annuntiabitur,  etc.,  might  also  be  rendered  :  *  The  coming  race  will 
declare  itself  to  the  Lord/  Quem  fecit  may  mean  :  ‘  which  the  Lord 
will  fashion/) 


PSALM  XXII 


THE  LORD  AS  SHEPHERD  AND  HOST 


THE  LorcTs  loving  care  for  the  psalmist  is  described  here,  first 
under  the  symbol  of  the  Good  Shepherd  (1-4),  and  then 
under  that  of  the  generous  host  (5-6).  As  the  shepherd 
feeds  a  flock,  so  the  psalmist  may  be  regarded.as_representmg 
the  communit y  (the  flock)  of  Israel.  God  is  the  Shepherd  of  Israel 
( c7TExod.~xxxivr  1H1  g),  and  HeTiTalso  the  master  of  the  house,  wlro 
entertains  Israel  in  the  sacred  banquets  of  the  Temple.  The  singer 
seems  to  speak  as  one  who  has  been  through  bitter  trials  (4) — not 
merely  as  one  who  is  ready  to  face  with  courage  the  unknown  perils 
of  the  future.  The  difficulties  of  the  ancient  desert-sojournings,  or 
the  trials  of  the  Babylo  ni  an  Exile  may  be  here  referred  to.  The 
tone  of  the  psalm  reminds  one  of  the  “  Gradual  Psalms.” 

1.  Psalmus  David.  1.  A  psalm  of  David. 


Dominus  regit  me,  et  nihil 
mihi  deerit : 

2.  In  loco  pascuae  ibi  me  collo-  2. 
cavit. 

Super  aquam  refectionis  edu¬ 
cavit  me  : 

3.  Animam  meam  convertit.  3. 
Deduxit  me  super  semitas 

justitiae,  propter  nomen  suum. 


The  Lord  guideth  me,  and  nothing  is 
wanting  to  me, 

In  the  pasture  He  lets  me  rest. 

To  refreshing  waters  He  leadeth  me; 

He  quickeneth  my  soul, 

He  guideth  me  on  the  right  path 
For  His  name's  sake. 


4.  Nam,  et  si  ambulavero  in 
medio  umbrae  mortis,  non  time¬ 
bo  mala  :  quoniam  tu  mecum 
es. 

Virga  tua,  et  baculus  tuus  : 
ipsa  me  consolata  sunt. 


4.  For  even  if  I  walk  in  the  midst  of  the 
shadow  of  death, 

I  fear  not  misfortune  : 

Because  Thou  art  with  me  ;  Thy  crook 
and  Thy  staff 
Do  strengthen  me. 


5.  Parasti  in  conspectu  meo 
mensam,  adversus  eos,  qui  tri¬ 
bulant  me. 

Impinguasti  in  oleo  caput 
meum  :  et  calix  meus  inebrians 
quam  praeclarus  est  ! 

6.  Et  misericordia  tua  sub- 
sequetur  me  omnibus  diebus 
vitae  meae  : 

Et  ut  inhabitem  in  domo 
Domini,  in  longitudinem  dierum. 


5.  Thou  preparest  for  me  a  banquet 

In  the  sight  of  mine  enemies. 

Thou  anointest  my  head  with  oil ; 

And  the  cup  which  refresheth  me — how 
goodly  it  is  ! 

6.  Thy  kindness  followeth  me 

All  the  days  of  my  life, 

So  that  I  may  dwell  in  the  House  of  the 
Lord 

For  ever  and  ever. 

84 


THE  LORD  AS  SHEPHERD  AND  HOST  85 


1.  Regit,  ‘  guides  as  a  shepherd/  as  Hebrew  shows. 

2.  The  aqua  refectionis  are  the  waters  by  which  the  flocks  find 
rest  at  noon-day. 

A  iiwmm  meam  convertit  ;  the  soul  which  was  departed,  as  it 
were,  in  fatigue,  is  brougfa  back.  The  Shepherd  guides  the  sheep 
on  sumi  ike-  ft  i  stiti  .  e .jSi e  paths,  the  paths  that  lead  surely  and 

safely  to  the  rest  of  evening  and  night. 

4.  The  darkness  is  that  of  the  narrow  deep  valley,  or  gorge,  as 
contrasted  with  the  bright  sunli ght  of  the  open  pasture-land .  The 
virga  and  the  baculus  are  the  shepherd^  crook  and  staff  which  keep 
off  thieves,  and  hostile  wild  beasts,  and  give  the  flock  a  sense  of 
security  (consolata,  ‘  give  confidence  ’  rather  than  ‘  comfort  ’)  when 
it  has  to  pass  through  places  where  such  foes  may  lurk.  The  crook 
and  staff  in  the  hand  of  God  are  symbols  of  His  wise  and  loving 
guidance.  The  idea  of  the  Lord  as  the  Shepherd  of  Israel  is  very 
common  in  the  Psalms  (lxxix.  2  ;  lxxviii.  13.  Cf.  also  Is.  xl.  11  ; 
Gen.  xlix.  24  :  Our  Lord  makes  use  of  this  familiar  idea  when  He 
describes  Himself  as  the  Good  Shepherd  (Lk.  xv.  4-7  ;  John  x.  1-18). 

5.  The  second  picture  shows  God  as  the  host  who  entertains  Israel 
at  a  banquet.  The  idea  of  hospitality,  with  all  that  it  implied  of 
the  sacredness  of  guests  and  the  duties  of  lavish  generosity,  often 
appears  in  Oriental  literature.  Like  a  splendid  host  God  orders  a 
heavily-laden  banquet-table  to  be  prepared.  He  filis  the  cups  of 
His  guests  with  the  wine  of  His  never-failing  generosity,  and  pours 
on  their  heads  the  oil  of  festal  gladness.  This  He  does  before  the 
face  of  Israels  foes,  as  a  king  might  give  a  banquet  of  honour  to  a 
man  whose  foes  had  sought  to  bring  him  to  ruin,  before  the  eyes  of 
these  same  enemies. 

In  the  sacred  banquets  of  the  Temple  the  pious  Israelite  could 
feel  that  God  was  the  Host  and  Master  of  the  banquet.  The  sacri  - 
ficial  Service  of  the  Temple  would  thus  be  the  pledge  of  God’s  abiding 
presence  in  Israel ;  and  to  dwell  in  the  Lord’s  House  would  be  the 
highest  privilege  which  a  pious  Israelite  could  seek. 

For  calix  meus  inebrians  the  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  My  cup  is  super- 
abundance ' — referring  to  the  constant  replenishing. 

6.  The  ut  before  inhabitem  ought  to  be  omitted.  Though  there 
is  no  immediate  reference  to  the  Banquet  of  the  New  Law,  it  will 
be  seen  how  readily  the  verses  5  and  6  can  be  made  applicable  to  it. 
For  long-continued  dwelling  in  the  Temple  cf.  the  account  of  Anna 
(Lk.  ii.  37). 


PSALM  XXIII 


ENTRY  INTO  THE  SANCTUARY  OF  THE 

LORD 

THE  verses  4-6  answer  the  question  ;  '  Who  is  the  friend  and 
guest  of  the  Lord  ?  ’  (like  Ps.  xiv).  The  answer  is  :  ‘  He 
whose  thoughts  and  acts  are  pure/  In  verses  1-2  the  majesty 
of  the  Lord,  the  Founder  of  the  universe,  is  described.  The 
sixth  verse  would  form  a  very  natural  ending  to  what  precedes  ; 
and  a  very  neat  and  beautiful  poem,  similar  in  theme  to  Ps.  xiv, 
might  be  regarded  as  completed  in  verses  1-6. 

In  verses  7-10  is  celebrated  a  solemn  entry  of  the  Lord  into  His 
Sanctuary.  Thus  the  second  part  of  Psalm  xxiii  deals,  like  the  first 
(verses  1-6),  with  entrance  into  the  Sanctuary,  but  the  first  part 
(1-6)  deals  with  the  ethical  conditions  demanded  from  Israelites  who 
will  sojourn  there  ;  while  the  second  (7-10)  speaks  of  the  glorious 
entrance  of  the  Lord  into  His  own  shrine.  The  poetical  structure 
differs  in  the  two  parts  of  the  psalm,  and  the  view  has  often  been 
expressed  that  we  have  in  this  psalm  a  combination  of  two  poems 
which  had  originally  nothing  to  do  with  each  other.  It  might  be  well 
maintained  that  the  second  part  of  the  psalm  was  chanted  for  the 
first  time  when  David  brought  the  Ark  to  Sion,  and  that  it  was  after- 
wards  sung  whenever  the  Ark  was  being  carried  back  to  its  sanctuary 
at  the  close  of  a  victorious  military  campaign,  in  which  the  Ark, 
as  the  symbol  of  God,  had  been  carried  on  the  battlefields.  The 
words  of  the  second  part  of  the  psalm  would  find  a  very  natural 
explanation  if  they  could  be  regarded  as  part  of  the  liturgy  recited 
at  the  return  of  the  Ark  from  victorious  warfare,  but  there  is,  un- 
fortunately,  no  direct  evidence  that  the  Ark  was  carried  out  to  battle 
during  the  monarchical  period. 

Some  recent  commentators  have  conjectured  that  the  whole 
psalm  was  composed  for  an  annual  Feast  of  Dedication  of  the  Temple 
at  which  the  Ark  was  carried  out  from  its  shrine,  and  borne  back 
to  it  again.  But  there  is  no  trace  of  such  an  annual  festi val  in 
ancient  Israel. 

The  structure  of  verses  3-6  and  of  verses  7-10  is  obviously  dramatic 
and  liturgical.  A  procession  in  both  parts  approaches  the  Temple, 
and  voices  from  without  and  within  are  heard  in  question  and  reply. 
The  translation  suggests  the  order  of  speakers  or  singers.  C/.  Ps.  xiv  ; 
Is.  xxxiii.  14-16  ;  Mich.  vi.  8/. 


86 


ENTRY  INTO  THE  S ANCTU ARY  87 


1.  Prima  Sabbati,  Psalmus  i. 
David. 


Domini  est  terra,  et  plenitudo 
ejus :  orbis  terrarum,  et  uni¬ 
versi  qui  habitant  in  eo. 

2.  Quia  ipse  super  maria  fun-  2. 
davit  eum :  et  super  flumina 
praeparavit  eum. 


3.  Quis  ascendet  in  montem  3. 
Domini  ?  aut  quis  stabit  in  loco 
sancto  ejus  ? 

4.  Innocens  manibus  et  mun-  4. 

do  corde,  qui  non  accepit  in 
vano  animam  suam,  nec  juravit 

in  dolo  proximo  suo. 

5.  Hic  accipiet  benedictionem  5. 

a  Domino  :  et  misericordiam  a 

Deo  salutari  suo. 

6.  Hac  est  generatio  quae-  6. 

rentium  eum,  quaerentium  fa¬ 

ciem  Dei  Jacob. 


7.  Attollite  portas  principes  7. 
vestras,  et  elevamini  portae 
aeternales :  et  introibit  Rex 

gloriae. 


8.  Quis  est  iste  Rex  gloriae  ?  8. 

Dominus  fortis  et  potens : 
Dominus  potens  in  praelio. 

9.  Attollite  portas  principes  9. 

vestras,  et  elevamini  portae 
aeternales :  et  introibit  Rex 

gloriae. 


10.  Quis  est  iste  Rex  gloriae  ?  io. 


Dominus  virtutum  ipse  est 
Rex  gloriae. 


On  the  First  day  of  the  week.  A  psalm 
of  David. 


The  world  is  the  Lord’s,  and  all  that  it 
holds  ; 

The  universe  and  everything  that 
d wells  therein. 

For  He  hath  established  it  upon  the  seas  ; 

And  upon  the  waters  He  hath  made  it 
firm. 

(The  procession) 

Who  shall  ascend  the  mountain  of  the 
Lord  ? 

And  who  shall  stand  in  His  holy  place  ? 

(The  Priests  at  the  Temple-entrance) 

He  that  is  clean  of  hands,  and  pure  of 
heart ; 

He  that  setteth  not  his  desire  on  vanity. 

And  sweareth  not  treacherously  to  his 
neighbour. 

Such  a  one  will  receive  blessings  from  the 
Lord, 

And  graciousness  from  his  God,  who  is 
so  rich  in  help. 

Such  are  the  men  who  seek  Him, 

Who  seek  the  face  of  the  God  of  J  acob . 


(The  procession  with  the  Ark) 

Open,  O  Princes,  your  gates  ! 

And  raise  yourselves,  ye  everlasting 
gates  ! 

That  the  glorious  King  may  enter  in ! 

4 

(A  voice  from  within  the  sanctuary) 
Who  is  this  glorious  king  ? 

(The  procession) 

The  Lord,  the  Mighty  and  Strong, 

The  Lord  who  is  powerful  in  battle  ! 


Open,  O  Princes,  your  gates  ! 

And  raise  yourselves  ye  everlasting 
gates ! 

That  the  glorious  King  may  enter  in. 

(Voice  within) 

Who  is  this  glorious  king  ? 

(Procession) 

The  Lord  of  Hosts  is  the  glorious  King. 


1.  By  the  title  the  psalm  is  assigned  to  Sunday — because,  perhaps, 
on  that  day  creation  began.  Fi  ve  days  of  the  week  ha  ve  psalms 
assigned  to  them  in  the  Septuagint,  and  one  in  the  Hebrew.  Sunday, 


88 


THE  PSALMS 


Psalm  xxiii  ;  Monday,  Psalm  xlvii  ;  Wednesday,  Psalm  xciii  ;  Friday, 
Psalm  xcii  ;  Saturday,  Psalm  xci  (both  in  Septuagint  and  Hebrew). 
There  is  some  evidence  that  Psalm  xcvi  was  assigned  to  Tuesday, 
and  Psalm  lxxx  to  Thursday. 

2.  The  earth  was,  in  the  Hebrew  idea,  established  on  waters  ; 
the  maria  are  the  waters  beneath  the  earth,  and  the  flumina  are  the 
currents  of  the  underlying  ocean.  C/.  Genesis  vii.  ii  ;  xlix.  25. 
From  the  under-world  of  ocean  came  springs  and  rivers.  The  glory 
of  God  is  seen  in  this  that  He  has  set  a  firm  world  on  a  basis  naturally 
nnstable.  It  is  ciear  that  the  psalmisFs  aim  here  is  rather  to  extol 
the  greatness  of  God  than  to  teach  a  theory  of  cosmogony.  The 
cosmogony  here  impii ed  is  the  same  as  that  of  Gen.  I,  and  Psalm  ciii. 
(For  prceparare  in  sense  of  ‘  establish/  compare  Ps.  lxiv.  7  ;  Ixxxviii.  3  ; 
xxxii.  14,  etc.) 

3.  The  connection  with  verse  2  is  :  God  is  the  majestic  Lord  of 
the  world.  Who  then  can  approach  Him  ?  The  answer  is  :  Only 
the  pure,  for  the  Almighty  One  is  also  the  All  Holy  One  ! 

4.  The  vanum,  probably,  is  ‘  evil/  Accipere  animam  is  here  a 
translation  of  nasa’  nephesh,  ‘  lift  up  the  soul/  or  ‘  set  the  mind  ’  (to 
something).  The  Flebrew  has  nothing  about  the  neighbour.  That 
is  added  here,  probably,  from  Ps.  xiv.  3. 

5.  Instead  of  misericordia  we  have  sedakah  (=justice)  in  Hebrew. 
The  Latin  (following  the  Greek)  does  not  reproduce  the  Hebrew 
exactly  here. 

6.  Qucerere  Deum  is  a  technical  Hebraism  expressing  devotion  to 
God,  and  complete  readiness  to  do  His  will.  To  *  seek  the  face  of 
God  '  was  to  come  to  worship  in  the  Temple.  With  this  insistence 
on  the  need  of  purity  and  truth  in  those  who  would  enter  the  Sanctuary, 
may  be  compared  the  inscription  often  found  at  the  entrance  to  the 
inner  portions  of  Egyptian  temples  :  ‘  Let  him  be  pure  who  enters 
here  !  ' 

7.  The  Hebrew  is  different.  In  the  Hebrew  text  the  gates  of  the 
city  (or  of  the  Temple),  are  called  on  to  raise  their  heads  :  *  Raise, 
O  ye  gates,  your  heads ;  rise,  ye  everlasting  gates !  ’  The  entrances 
are  too  low,  as  it  were,  for  the  glory  of  the  entering  ark.  The  ‘  ever¬ 
lasting  gates  ’  are  the  ancient,  venerable  gates.  Those  who  carry 
the  Ark,  and  accompany  it,  address  the  gates  (i. e.  the  Priests  guarding 
the  gates). 

8.  The  gates  ask  wonderingly  :  Who  is  the  King  ?  The  answer 
suggests  that  a  victorious  war  had  just  been  ended.  The  Lord  is 
described  in  martial  epithets.  Note  that  it  is  only  when  the  chief 
of  the  Lord’s  military  epithets  Yahweh  Sebha‘oth  is  given,  that  the 
gates  are  opened. 

9.  10.  The  repetition  is  for  dramatic  effect. 


PSALM  XXIV 


A  PRAYER  IN  TIME  OF  NEED 


THIS  is  an  alphabetical  psalm.  The  &-verse  is  missing,  and 
verse  22  beginning  with  p  is  supernumary,  being,  appar- 
ently,  a  liturgi cal  addition.  The  vau  which  is  wanting  in 
verse  56  is  easily  supplied.  The  psalm  is  somewhat  loosely 
put  together  ;  it  consists  of  prayers  for  help  against  oppressors,  for 
guidance  on  the  right  path,  for  continuance  of  divine  support,  and 
for  freedom  from  pain  and  enmity.  The  psalm  may  have  been  a 
sort  of  model  prayer,  to  be  used  in  ali  times  of  need  and  trouble. 


The  last  verse  shows  that  it  was 
ali  Israel. 

1.  In  finem,  Psalmus  David.  1. 


2.  Ad  te  Domine  levavi  ani-  2. 
mam  meam  :  Deus  meus  in  te 
confido,  non  erubescam. 

3.  Neque  irrideant  me  ini-  3. 

mici  mei :  etenim  universi,  qui 
sustinent  te,  non  confundentur. 

4.  Confundantur  omnes  ini-  4. 

qua  agentes  supervacue. 

Vias  tuas  Domine  demonstra 
mihi  :  et  semitas  tuas  edoce  me. 

5.  Dirige  me  in  veritate  tua,  5. 
et  doce  me  :  quia  tu  es  Deus 
salvator  meus,  et  te  sustinui 
tota  die. 


6.  Reminiscere  miserationum  6. 

tuarum  Domine,  et  misericor¬ 
diarum  tuarum,  quae  a  saeculo 
sunt. 

7.  Delicta  juventutis  meae,  et  7. 
ignorantias  meas  ne  memineris. 

Secundum  misericordiam  tu¬ 
am  memento  mei  tu  :  propter 
bonitatem  tuam  Domine. 

8.  Dulcis  et  rectus  Dominus  :  8. 

propter  hoc  legem  dabit  de¬ 
linquentibus  in  via. 

9.  Diriget  mansuetos  in  judi-  9. 
cio  :  docebit  mites  vias  suas. 

10.  Universae  viae  Domini,  10. 
misericordia  et  veritas,  requiren¬ 
tibus  testamentum  ejus  et  testi¬ 
monia  ejus. 


used  in  the  liturgy  as  a  prayer  for 


For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of  David. 

To  Thee,  O  Lord,  I  raise  up  my  soul. 

O  my  God,  I  put  my  trust  in  Thee  :  let 
me  not  be  brought  to  shame  ! 

Nor  let  my  enemies  mock  me  ! 

For  all  who  hope  in  Thee  will  not  be 
brought  to  shame. 

May  they  all  be  brought  to  shame  who 
do  injustice  without  excuse  (or,  with- 
out  avail). 

Show  me,  O  Lord,  Thy  ways  ; 

And  teach  me  Thy  paths. 

Guide  me  in  Thy  truth,  and  be  my 
Teacher. 

For  Thou  art  the  God  who  can  rescue 
me, 

And  in  Thee  I  put  my  trust  the  live- 
long  day. 

Be  mindful,  O  Lord,  of  Thy  deeds  of 
mercy, 

And  of  Thy  acts  of  kindness  which  have 
been  done  from  days  of  old. 

Be  mindful  no  longer  of  the  offences  of 
my  youth  (nor  of  my  sins)  : 

But  be  mindful  of  me  in  Thy  loving 
kindness. 

(For  the  sake  of  Thy  goodness,  O  Lord!) 

Kind  and  just  is  the  Lord  : 

Therefore  He  giveth  a  law  to  those  who 
might  fail  on  the  way  [of  life]. 

He  guideth  the  humble  with  justice  : 

He  teacheth  the  peaceful  His  ways. 

All  the  ways  of  the  Lord  are  kindness  and 
truth — 

For  those  who  are  zealous  for  His 
Covenant,  and  His  precepts. 


89 


9o 


THE  PSALMS 


11.  Propter  nomen  tuum  Do-  ii. 
mine  propitiaberis  peccato  meo  : 
multum  est  enim. 

12.  Quis  est  homo  qui  timet  12. 
Dominum  ?  legem  statuit  ei  in 

via,  quam  elegit. 

13.  Anima  ejus  in  bonis  de-  13. 
morabitur  :  et  semen  ejus  haere- 
ditabit  terram. 

14.  Firmamentum  est  Domi¬ 
nus  timentibus  eum  :  et  testa¬ 
mentum  ipsius  ut  manifestetur 
illis. 

15.  Oculi  mei  semper  ad  Do¬ 
minum  :  quoniam  ipse  evellet 
de  laqueo  pedes  meos. 

16.  Respice  in  me,  et  mise¬ 
rere  mei  :  quia  unicus  et  pauper 
sum  ego. 

17.  Tribulationes  cordis  mei 
multiplicatae  sunt :  de  necessi¬ 
tatibus  meis  erue  me. 

18.  Vide  humilitatem  meam, 
et  laborem  meum :  et  dimitte 
universa  delicta  mea. 

19.  Respice  inimicos  meos  19. 

quoniam  multiplicati  sunt,  et 
odio  iniquo  oderunt  me. 

20.  Custodi  animam  meam,  20. 

et  erue  me  :  non  erubescam 
quoniam  speravi  in  te. 

21.  Innocentes  et  recti  ad-  21. 

haeserunt  mihi :  quia  sustinui 

te. 

22.  Libera  Deus  Israel,  ex  22. 

omnibus  tribulationibus  suis. 


For  the  sake  of  Thy  name,  O  Lord, 
Pardon  my  sins,  for  they  are  many  ! 

Who  is  he  that  feareth  the  Lord  ? 

Him  doth  He  teach  the  path  which 
he  should  choose. 

Such  a  one  will  enjoy  good  fortune  ; 

And  his  posterity  will  inherit  the  land. 


See  how  many  are  my  foes, 

And  with  what  bitter  malice  they 
hate  me  ! 

Guard  me  and  rescue  me  ! 

Let  me  not  be  brought  to  shame ! 

For  I  have  put  my  trust  in  Thee. 

The  blameless  and  just  unite  themselves 
with  me, 

For  I  do  wait  on  Thee. 

Set  Israel  free,  O  God,  from  ali  her 
sorrows  ! 


14.  The  Lord  is  a  stay  to  those  who  fear  Him  : 

And  His  Covenant  [is  there]  that  it  be 
made  plain  to  them. 

15.  My  eyes  are  at  ali  times  turned  to  the 

Lord, 

For  He  releaseth  my  feet  from  the 
snare. 

16.  Look  on  me  and  pity  me, 

For  I  am  lonely  and  poor  ! 

17.  The  cares  of  my  heart  are  many. 

Rescue  me  from  my  sorrows  ! 

18.  Behold  my  lowliness,  and  my  pain  ; 

And  pardon  all  my  sins  ! 


1.  Levare  animam  translates  the  same  Hebrew  phrase  as  accipere 
animam  of  xxiii.  4. 

4.  Supervacue  may  mean,  without  provocation  or  excuse,  or, 
without  any  pro  fit  to  themselves.  If  the  iniqua  agentes  are,  as  some 
think,  apostates,  only  the  second  explanation  of  supervacue  can  stand. 

The  ‘  ways  ’  of  God  are  here  the  sort  of  life  which  God  prescribes. 

5.  The  '  truth  '  is  that  which  appears  in  Gods  Law. 

6.  The  ‘  mercy  ’  and  *  grace  '  are  those  shown  to  the  fathers  in 
the  ancient  days — v.g.,  in  the  Exodus. 

7.  The  sins  of  youth  were  those  committcd  in  the  early  days  of 
Israebs  national  life  (as,  for  instance,  the  worship  of  the  golden  calf 
and  the  other  sins  of  the  Wanderings).  The  ignorantice  seem  to  have 
been  inserted  to  make  the  psalm  suitable  for  private  use  ;  these 
ignorantice  are  not  such  sins  as  were  committed  through  inadvertence, 
but  sins  in  general,  acts  of  revolt  against  God  (Hebrew  pesha‘). 

8.  Delinquentibus  in  via,  ought  to  be,  according  to  Hebrew,  de- 


A  PRAYER  IN  TIME  OF  NEED 


91 

linquentibus  monstrat  viam .  The  sinners  are  the  Israelites,  and  the 
“  way  1  is  the  Law. 

9.  The  “  humble  ”  and  “  peaceful  ”  are  the  poor  and  lowly,  i. e. 
the  pious  Israelites. 

10.  The  ‘  ways  ’  of  God  here  are  His  policy  towards  His  people. 

11.  The  sense  seems  to  be  :  ‘  Because  Thou  bearest  the  name 
“  God  of  Israel/1  forgive  Thy  people  Israel  their  sins  !  1 

13.  Compare  the  Beatitudes. 

14.  The  second  half  of  the  verse  is  obscure.  Possibly  something 
has  fallen  out,  thus  :  *  [It  is  His  pleasure]  to  make  known  His 
covenant  to  them/ 

21.  The  Hebrew  has  :  '  May  innocence  and  honour  guard  me  1 — 
the  two  virtues  being  thought  of  as  protecting  Spirits  sent  by  God. 

22.  This  is  certainly  an  addition  to  the  poem.  It  does  not  fall 
into  the  alphabeti cal  arrangement,  and  while  Yahweh  is  used  else- 
where  in  the  psalm,  we  ha  ve  in  this  verse  Elohim. 


PSALM  XXV 


PRAYER  OF  THE  GUILTLESS 


IN  this  poem  oppressed  innocence  prays  for  justice.  The  innocent 
who  is  also  lowly  and  poor,  is  maltreated  by  the  impious  and 
bloodthirsty  ;  yet  he  holds  firmly  to  his  piety,  confident  that, 
at  some  time,  his  way  of  life  will  be  smoothened  and  made 
straight  for  him. 

The  psalm  would  suit  any  occasion  in  which  oppressed  innocence 
feels  compelled  to  plead  its  claims.  It  might  be  sung,  therefore,  at 
any  time  by  any  pious  Israelite  who  felt  that  his  piety  was  not 
sufficiently  remembered  and  rewarded.  It  is,  however,  better,  per- 
haps,  to  take  the  psalm  as  a  public  or  communal  prayer,  intended 
to  be  sung  on  behalf  of  all  Israel.  The  emphasis  on  the  singeNs 
innocence  will  thus  become  more  intelligible.  It  will  be  noted  that 
the  singer  claims  to  ha  ve  many  points  of  the  ideal  perfection  outlined 
in  Psalm  i.  The  psalm  is  almost  identical  in  content  with  Psalm  c. 


i.  In  finem,  Psalmus  David.  i. 


Judica  me,  Domine,  quoniam 
ego  in  innocentia  mea  ingressus 
sum  :  et  in  Domino  sperans  non 
nfirmabor. 

2.  Proba  me,  Domine,  et  2. 
tenta  me  :  ure  renes  meos  et : 

cor  meum. 

3.  Quoniam  misericordia  tua  3. 

ante  oculos  meos  est :  et  com¬ 
placui  in  veritate  tua. 

4.  Non  sedi  cum  concilio  va-  4. 
nitatis  :  et  cum  iniqua  gerenti 

bus  non  introibo. 

5.  Odivi  ecclesiam  malignan-  5. 

tium  :  et  cum  impiis  non  sedebo. 

6.  Lavabo  inter  innocentes  6. 

manus  meas :  et  circumdabo 
altare  tuum,  Domine  : 

7.  Ut  audiam  vocem  laudis,  7. 

et  enarrem  universa  mirabilia 

tua. 

8.  Domine,  dilexi  decorem  do-  8. 

mus  tuae,  et  locum  habitationis 
gloriae  tuae. 


For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of  David. 


Judge  me,  O  Lord,  for  I  walk  in  innocence. 
And  in  the  Lord  do  I  trust  without 
falter  ! 

Test  me,  O  Lord,  and  try  me  ! 

Prove  Thou  my  reins  and  my  heart ! 

For  ever-present  is  Thy  kindness  before 
me, 

And  in  Thy  truth  I  find  my  pleasure. 

I  sit  not  in  the  gathering  of  the  godless  ; 
And  I  have  no  converse  with  evil-doers. 

I  hate  the  gathering  of  the  evil-minded  ; 
And  with  the  godless  I  sit  not. 


I  wash  my  hands  in  innocence  ; 

And  I  walk  in  procession  round  Thy 
altar, 

To  hear  the  words  of  praising  song, 

And  to  chant  of  all  Thy  wondrous 
deeds. 

O  Lord,  I  love  Thy  beauteous  House, 
And  the  place  where  Thy  glory 
dwelleth  ! 


92 


PRAYER  OF  THE  GUILTLESS 


93 


9.  Ne  perdas  cum  impiis  9. 
Deus,  animam  meam,  et  cum 
viris  sanguinum  vitam  meam. 

10.  In  quorum  manibus  ini-  10. 
quitates  sunt :  dextera  eorum 
repleta  est  muneribus. 

11.  Ego  autem  in  innocentia  11. 
mea  ingressus  sum  :  redime  me, 

et  miserere  mei. 

12.  Pes  meus  stetit  in  directo  :  12. 

in  ecclesiis  benedicam  te,  Do¬ 
mine. 


Destroy  not  my  soul  with  the  impious,  O 
God, 

Nor  my  life  with  men  of  blood  ; 

On  whose  hands  injustice  abideth, 

And  whose  right  hand  is  full  of  bribes. 

But  I  do  wallc  in  blamelessness  ; 

Rescue  me  and  pity  me  ! 

My  foot  is  on  the  straight  path  ; 

In  the  assemblies  I  will  praise  Thee, 
Lord  ! 


1.  Judica,  ‘  procure  for  me  justice/  Hitherto  the  impious  ha  ve 
deprived  the  psalmist  of  his  rights.  Innocentia,  blamelessness,  piety. 

2.  Ure  is  parallel  to  proba  and  tenta.  The  reins  and  heart  are 
the  seat  of  feeling,  and  must,  therefore,  be  tested  by  the  “  Tester  of 
reins  and  hearts.” 

3.  The  ‘  kindness  *  is  the  graciousness  which  the  Lord  has  shown 
to  Israel,  and  the  ‘  truth  '  is,  probably,  the  truth  which  hnds  expression 
in  the  Law. 

4.  Cf.  Ps.  i.  Vanitas,  ‘sin/  The  iniqua  gerentes  are,  in  Hebre w, 
*  the  hidden  ones  ’ — because  their  actions  could  not  endure  the  light. 

5.  Cf.  again  Ps.  i. 

6.  7.  Inter  innocentes,  Hebrew  :  ‘  in  innocency  ’  ;  the  *  washing  ’ 
means  keeping  oneself  from  sin.  According  to  the  Hebrew  the 
washing  of  the  hands  symbolises  the  cleanness  of  the  psalmist 's  heart. 
Inter  innocentes  suggests  that,  if  the  psalmist  is  among  the  perfect, 
he  is  perfect  himself.  The  priests  were  bound  to  wash  their  feet  and 
hands  before  approaching  the  altar.  So  the  singer,  who  represents 
himself  here  as  approaching  the  altar,  makes  himself  clean.  There 
seems  to  be  here  a  reference  to  a  solemn  procession  around  the  altar 
during  a  ceremony  of  thanksgiving.  The  vox  laudis  is  part  of  the 
ceremony,  and  the  theme  of  the  “  Lauds  ”  was  mainly  the  wonderful 
mercy  of  God  towards  Israel — the  universa  mirabilia  tua. 

8.  The  singer  hnds  it  an  intense  pleasure  to  share  in  the  thanks- 
giving-service,  and  in  the  other  Services  of  the  Temple.  The  gloria 
is  the  concrete  manifestation  of  God  s  glory  in  the  Holy  of  Holies. 
There  is  a  reference  also  to  the  visible  glory  in  which  God  used  to 
appear  in  the  early  days.  V id.  Exod.  xvi.  10  ;  3  Kings  viii.  11 ; 
Ps.  lxxxiv.  10. 

9-12.  He  prays  that  he  may  not  die  the  sudden  and  bitter  death 
of  the  godless — murderers,  robbers,  and  corrupters  of  justice.  His 
way  is  in  innocence,  in  directo — on  the  smooth  path  on  which  there  is 
no  stumbling  :  if  he  has  not  yet  found  his  path  smooth  and  pleasant, 
his  faith  makes  him  confident  that  it  will  be  peaceful  and  secure  in 
the  future. 


PSALM  XXVI 


IN  THE  LORD  I  AM  STRONG ! 


i^T^HIS  psalm,  like  Psalm  xxiii,  has  two  clearly  distinguishable 
parts.  In  the  first  (verses  1-6)  the  singer  expresses  his 
complete  trust  in  the  Lord,  and  his  love  for  the  Lord’s 
dwelling-place  which  guarantees  protection  against  all 
danger.  In  the  second  part  (7-14)  he  pleads  for  pity  and  mercy  in 
his  need  ;  he  is  abandoned,  and  he  is  attacked  by  foes,  but  he  is 
stili  full  of  confidence  that  the  Lord  will  rescue  him,  and  give  him 
peace. 

The  great  contrast  between  the  two  parts  has  here  also  suggested 
the  theory  that  the  psalm  is  a  combination  of  two  originally  uncon- 
nected  poems.  Yet  the  two  parts  seem,  somehow,  to  balance  each 
other,  and  to  refer  to  each  other.  Compare  the  hope  expressed  in 
verse  4  with  that  expressed  in  verse  13.  The  whole  psalm  might  be 
taken  as  the  song  of  an  Israelite  in  exile  and  oppressed,  who  longs  to 
share  again  in  the  liturgy  of  the  Divine  Service,  and  whose  courage  is 
upheld  by  the  thought  of  the  protecting  presence  in  the  Sanctuary  of 
Israel  of  the  God  who  has,  in  all  times  of  need,  sustained  His  servants 
of  the  chosen  race.  The  longing  to  share  in  the  ritual,  and  the  desire 
to  see  ‘  the  goodness  of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the  living/  belong  to 
the  same  frame  of  mind  which  shows  itself  in  Ps.  xxii,  xxiii  and  xxv 
(cf.  especially  xxv,  6-8).  It  is  difiicult,  but  not,  of  course,  impossible, 
to  suppose  that  David  was  thus  full  of  longing  to  share  in  the  liturgy 
of  the  Tabernacle  during  his  troubles  with  Saul.  The  superscription 
‘  before  he  was  anointed  ’  is  not  in  the  Hebrew,  and  is  wanting  in 
most  of  the  Greek  codices.  (There  are  three  Biblical  accounts  of  the 
anointing  of  David  :  I  Kings  xvi  ;  II  Kings  ii,  and  II  Kings  v,  and 
the  superscription  may  be  referred  to  any  one  of  them.) 


1.  Psalmus  David  priusquam  1. 
liniretur. 

Dominus  illuminatio  mea,  et 
salus  mea,  quem  timebo  ? 

Dominus  protector  vitae  meae, 
a  quo  trepidabo  ? 


2.  Dum  appropiant  super  me  2. 
nocentes,  ut  edant  carnes  meas  : 

Qui  tribulant  me  inimici  mei, 
ipsi  infirmati  sunt,  et  ceciderunt. 


A  Psalm  of  David  before  he  was  anointed. 


The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my  salvation. 

Whom  have  I  to  fear  ? 

The  Lord  is  the  guardian  of  my  life. 
Before  whom  shall  I  tremble  ? 


While  evil-doers  draw  nigh  against  me, 
To  devour  my  flesh, — 

My  enemies  who  oppress  me 
Grow  powerless  and  sink  down. 


94 


IN  THE  LORD  I  AM  STRONG ! 


95 

3.  If  a  whole  army  should  encamp  against 

me, 

My  heart  feeleth  no  fear. 

If  battle  should  rage  against  me 
I  stili  am  confident. 

4.  One  thing  I  have  begged  for  from  the 

Lord, 

And  it  I  long  for — 

To  dwell  in  the  House  of  the  Lord 
During  all  my  days, 

That  I  may  gaze  on  that  in  which  the 
Lord  delights, 

And  visit  His  Sanctuary. 

5.  For  He  hideth  me  in  His  tent. 

On  the  evil  day  ; 

He  guardeth  me  in  the  secret  places  of 
His  tent ; 

6.  On  a  rock  He  hath  set  me  up. 


3.  Si  consistant  adversum  me 
castra,  non  timebit  cor  meum. 

Si  exsurgat  adversum  me  prae¬ 
lium,  in  hoc  ego  sperabo. 

4.  Unam  petii  a  Domino, 
hanc  requiram,  ut  inhabitem  in 
domo  Domini  omnibus  diebus 
vitae  meae  : 

Ut  videam  voluptatem  Do¬ 
mini,  et  visitem  templum  ejus. 

5.  Quoniam  abscondit  me  in 
tabernaculo  suo  :  in  die  malo¬ 
rum  protexit  me  in  abscondito 
tabernaculi  sui. 

6.  In  petra  exaltavit  me  : 

Et  nunc  exaltavit  caput  me¬ 
um  super  inimicos  meos. 

Circuivi,  et  immolavi  in  taber¬ 
naculo  ejus  hostiam  vociferatio¬ 
nis  :  cantabo,  et  psalmum  dicam 
Domino. 

7.  Exaudi  Domine  vocem  me¬ 
am,  qua  clamavi  ad  te  :  miserere 
mei,  et  exaudi  me. 

8.  Tibi  dixit  cor  meum,  ex- 
quisivit  te  facies  mea  :  faciem 
tuum  Domine  requiram. 

9.  Ne  avertas  faciem  tuam  a 
me  :  ne  declines  in  ira  a  servo 
tuo. 

Adjutor  meus  esto  :  ne  dere¬ 
linquas  me,  neque  despicias  me 
Deus  salutaris  meus. 

10.  Quoniam  pater  meus,  et 
mater  mea  dereliquerunt  me  : 
Dominus  autem  assumpsit  me. 

11.  Legem  pone  mihi  Domi¬ 
ne  in  via  tua  :  et  dirige  me  in 
semitam  rectam  propter  inimi¬ 
cos  meos. 

12.  Ne  tradideris  me  in  ani¬ 
mas  tribulantium  me  :  quoniam 
insurrexerunt  in  me  testes  ini¬ 
qui,  et  mentita  est  iniquitas 
sibi. 

13.  Credo  videre  bona  Do¬ 
mini  in  terra  viventium. 

14.  Exspecta  Dominum,  viri¬ 
liter  age :  et  confortetur  cor 
tuum,  et  sustine  Dominum. 


And  now  He  doth  raise  up  my  head 
Above  my  foes. 

I  draw  nigh,  and  offer  in  His  tent 
A  sacrifice  with  trumpet-clang. 

I  will  sing  and  hymn  unto  the  Lord. 


7.  Hear,  O  Lord,  my  voice  with  which  I  cry 

to  Thee ! 

Have  pity  on  me  and  hear  me. 

8.  To  Thee  my  heart  doth  speak 

My  glance  doth  seek  Thee. 

I  long  for  Thy  countenance,  O  Lord. 


9.  Turn  not  Thy  face  from  me 

Turn  not  away  in  anger  from  Thy 
servant 

Be  Thou  my  Helper. 

Abandon  me  not,  and  despise  me  not, 

O  God  my  Saviour  | 

10.  Though  father  and  mother  abandon  Tne, 
The  Lord  doth  rescue  me. 


11.  Give  me  a  law,  O  Lord,  for  Thy  way  ; 

And  guide  me  on  the  right  path, 
Because  of  my  foes. 

12.  Abandon  me  not  to  the  desires  of  my 

oppressors  : 

When  false  witnesses  arise  against  me, 
Godlessness  becometh  openly  a  liar. 

13.  I  am  confident  that  I  shall  seeHhe  good- 

ness  of  the  Lord 
In  the  land  of  the  living. 

14.  Trust  in  the  Lord  ! 

Act  boldly,  and  let  thy  heart  be 
strengthened, 

And  wait  for  the  Lord  ! 


96 


THE  PSALMS 


LffH.  The  Lord  is  the  Light  which  dispels  the  darkness  of  grief  and 
trouble.  He  is  the  shield  which  protects  from  all  attack. 

2.  The  nocentes  (= maligni)  come  like  raging  wild  beasts  ready  to 
devour  him.  There  is  no  question  here  of  a  metaphorical  use  of 
edere  carnes  :  the  metaphor  lies  in  representing  the  enemies  as 
savage  wild  beasts,  and  that  kind  of  metaphor  is  frequent  in  the 
psalms. 

The  enemies  are  themselves  smitten  by  the  misfortune  which 
they  would  bring  on  the  psalmist.  Of  course,  we  do  not  know 
anything  definite  about  the  situation  here  implied. 

3.  In  hoc,  ‘  in  spite  of  this/ 

4.  Unam  translates  the  Hebrew  feminine,  which  does  duty  for 
the  neuter.  The  singer  here  clearly  States  a  desire  to  dwell  in  the 
House  of  the  Lord.  There  is  not  question  merely  of  dwelling  near 
the  Temple  or  Tabernacle,  and  of  coming  to  see  the  ritual,  but  of 
actually  remaining  permanently  in  the  Holy  House  so  as  to  share 
in  all  the  Divine  Worship  of  the  shrine.  The  ‘  voluptas  ’  is  that  in 
which  God  finds  His  delight — i. e.  the  whole  ceremonial  of  sacrifice 
and  worship  generally  in  the  Sanctuary.  The  Hebrew  speaks  of  the 
*  loveliness  ’  of  the  Lord — which  is  the  same  thing  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  zealous  worshipper.  Visitem  does  not  fit  in  well  with 
the  context — since  the  singer  is,  in  his  desire,  already  within  the 
Sanctuary.  The  Hebrew  text  is,  however,  not  helpful  towards  a 
.better — or  any — rendering. 

5.  The  Sanctuary,  and  the  cult  therein,  are  the  pledge  and  source 
of  Israel  s,  and  particularly  of  Jerusalems,  security. 

6.  The  security  of  an  inaccessible  cliff  is  guaranteed  to  Jerusalem 
by  the  presence  of  the  Dwelling  of  the  Lord. 

Circuivi  is  represented  in  Hebrew  by  an  adverbial  phrase  to  be 
read  with  the  preceding — *  my  enemies  round  about  mei  The  Latin 
might  be  taken  as  implying  a  processional  movement  about  the 
altar. 

The  hostia  vociferationis  is,  perhaps,  a  sacrifice  accompanied  by 
clang  of  trumpets.  In  Numbers  x,  10/  we  hear  of  special  sacrifices 
offered  with  blowing  of  trumpets  ;  but  there  is  no  need  to  assume 
that  the  hostia  vociferationis  is  one  of  those,  or  that  it  means  anything 
more  than  a  thanksgiving  sacrifice  accompanied  by  song  (and  possibly 
music). 

8.  The  Hebrew  is  different  here  :  ‘  Thine  (i. e.  Thy  command), 
says  my  heart,  is  the  “  Seek-ye-my-face,”  and,  therefore,  O  Yahweh, 
do  I  seek  Thy  face/  His  heart  reminds  him  of  the  divine  command 
to  seek  the  face  of  God. 

10.  ‘  Even  should  father  and  mother  abandon  him  ’ — an  idea 
natural  enough  in  the  East  where  exposure  of  infants  has  always 
been  known. 

11.  The  “  Law  ”  will  be  a  guide  on  the  way. 


IN  THE  LORD  I  AM  STRONG  ! 


97 


Propter  inimicos — i. e.  so  that  they  may  not  triumph. 

12.  Animas,  the  will,  or  desire. 

Et  mentita  est  iniquitas  sibi — their  false  evidence  betrays  itself, 
shows  itself  clearly  to  be  false.  The  Hebrew  is  difficult  here  also. 

13.  The  bona  Domini  might  include  the  splendours  of  Divine 
worship  (cf.  verse  4).  The  land  of  the  living  is  this  world,  as  opposed 
to  Sheol. 

14.  The  singer  may  be  regarded  as  here  addressing  his  own  heart. 

Sustine,  ‘  wait  confidently  for  '  (cf.  Ps.  xxxvi.  9  ;  xxiv.  3,  5,  21). 


7 


PSALM  XXVII 

A  PRAYER  AGAINST  ENEMIES 


THIS  psalm  is  at  once  a  prayer  for  rescue  from  perii,  and  for 
vengeance  against  enemies  (verses  1-5),  and  a  thanksgiving 
for  the  hearing  of  the  prayer. 

The  occasion  of  the  poem  is  unknown.  It  was  composed 
at  a  time  when  there  was  a  generally  acknowledged  king  upon  the 
throne  (verses  8-9).  The  ascription  of  the  psalm  to  a  king  is  reason- 
able,  and  there  is  no  serious  intrinsic  difhculty  against  its  Davidic 
origin. 


1.  Psalmus  ipsi  David. 


1.  A  psalm  of  David. 


Ad  te  Domine  clamabo,  Deus 
meus  ne  sileas  a  me  :  nequando 
taceas  a  me,  et  assimilabor 
descendentibus  in  lacum. 

2.  Exaudi  Domine  vocem  de¬ 
precationis  meae  dum  oro  ad 
te  :  dum  extollo  manus  meas  ad 
templum  sanctum  tuum. 


To  Thee,  O  Lord,  do  I  cry. 

Turn  not  in  silence  from  me,  O  my  God, 
That  Thou  mayest  not  abandon  me,  and 
I  may  not  become  like  those 
Who  sink  down  into  the  grave. 

2.  Hear,  O  Lord,  my  words  of  petition, 
When  I  pray  to  Thee  ! 

When  I  raise  my  hands 
Towards  Thy  holy  temple  ! 


3.  Ne  simul  trahas  me  cum  3. 
peccatoribus  :  et  cum  operanti¬ 
bus  iniquitatem  ne  perdas  me. 

Qui  loquuntur  pacem  cum 
proximo  suo,  mala  autem  in 
cordibus  eorum. 

4.  Da  illis  secundum  opera  4. 
eorum,  et  secundum  nequitiam 
adinventionum  ipsorum. 

Secundum  opera  manuum  eo¬ 
rum  tribue  illis  :  redde  retribu¬ 
tionem  eorum  ipsis. 

5.  Quoniam  non  intellexerunt 
opera  Domini,  et  in  opera 
manuum  ejus  destrues  illos,  et 
non  aedificabis  eos. 

6.  Benedictus  Dominus  :  quo¬ 
niam  exaudivit  vocem  depreca¬ 
tionis  meae. 

7.  Dominus  adjutor  meus,  et 
protector  meus  :  in  ipso  speravit 
cor  meum,  et  adjutus  sum. 

Et  refloruit  caro  mea  :  et  ex 
voluntate  mea  confitebor  ei. 


Snatch  me  not  away  with  sinners  ; 

And  destroy  me  not  with  evil-doers, 
Who  speak  words  of  peace  to  their  neigh- 
bour, 

But  have  malice  in  their  hearts. 

Reward  them  according  to  their  works 
And  according  to  their  evil  deeds. 
According  to  the  deeds  of  their  hands 
requite  them  ! 

Let  them  have  their  due  reward  ! 


5.  For  they  pay  no  heed  to  the  works  of 

the  Lord, 

And  the  deeds  of  His  Hands. 

Pull  Thou  them  down,  and  build  them 
not  up. 

6.  Praised  be  the  Lord,  for  He  heareth 

The  words  of  my  prayer. 

7.  The  Lord  is  my  help  and  my  protection  : 

My  heart  did  hope  in  Him  ; 

And  help  has  been  given  me,  and  my  flesh 
is  again  refreshed. 

And  gladly  do  I  praise  Him. 

98 


A  PRAYER  AGAINST  ENEMIES 


99 


8.  Dominus  fortitudo  plebis 
suae  :  et  protector  salvationum 
Christi  sui  est. 

g.  Salvum  fac  populum  tuum 
Domine,  et  benedic  haereditati 
tuae  :  et  rege  eos,  et  extolle 
illos  usque  in  aeternum. 


8.  The  Lord  is  the  strength  of  His  people, 
And  the  rescuing  Protector  of  His 
anointed. 

g.  Help  Thy  people,  O  Lord,  and  bless  Thy 
possession  ! 

And  guide  them  and  bear  them  up  for 
ever  ! 


1.  Ne  sileas  a  me,  is  a  pregnant  construction  :  ‘  Do  not  turn 
from  my  prayer  in  contemptuous  silence/  It  is  the  same  as  ne 
taceas. 

2.  Raising  the  hands,  palms  upward,  was  the  usual  gesture  of 
prayer.  The  Hebrew  has  ‘  towards  Thy  holy  Debhir,’  i. e.  the  inner- 
most  shrine,  the  Holy  of  Holies. 

3.  The  godless  are  here  depicted  as  a  booty  which  the  Divine 
Hunter  captures. 

5.  The  opera  Dei  are  the  signs  of  the  times,  present  and  past, 
wherein  men  could  read  the  judgments  of  God.  Hardened  sinners 
do  not  heed  { intellexerunt ),  and,  therefore,  do  not  appreciate,  the 
ways  of  God.  The  prayer  for  the  pulling  down  of  his  foes  may  sound 
strangely  from  the  lips  of  David  But  his  enemies  were  those  of 
God,  and  of  God’s  people,  and  it  must  be  remembered  that  we  also 
pray  ut  inimicos  sanet  ce  ecclesice  humiliare  digneris. 

6.  The  singer  feels  that  his  prayer  is  granted — or  about  to  be 
granted. 

8.  Salvationum — the  Lord  shows  His  protection  in  many  ways. 
The  construction  is  like  Deus  justitice,  etc. 

9.  Israel  is  a  hcereditas,  i.e.  a  peculiar  and  permanent  possession, 
of  the  Lord.  Rege,  i.e.  (according  to  Hebrew)  as  a  shepherd.  Extolle 
illos,  ‘  carry  them/  as  a  shepherd  carries  a  strayed  or  wearied  sheep. 
Cf.  Isaias  lxiii.  9  ;  ‘In  his  love  and  pity  He  rescued  them  ;  and  He 
raised  them  up,  and  carried  them  ali  the  days  of  old/ 


PSALM  XXVIII 


THE  GLORY  OF  GOD  IN  A  STORM 


THE  author  of  this  psalm  is  inspired  by  the  glory  of  a  great 
thunder-storm.  The  whole  course  of  the  storm,  from  the 
first  gathering  of  the  threatening  clouds  to  the  last  terrific 
crash  of  thunder,  is  described.  Seven  times  the  singer  cries 
out :  Kol  Yahweh!  vox  Domini  !  as  if  to  echo  the  peals  of  thunder. 
The  first  words  of  the  song  are  an  appeal  to  the  angels  to  give  honour 
and  praise  to  the  Lord  of  the  storm  ;  and  the  poem  itself  in  general 
may  be  regarded  as  the  praising  song  of  the  angels  heard  above  the 
fury  of  the  storm.  The  concluding  verse  voices  the  thought  that  a 
Lord  so  mighty  as  He  whose  voice  is  the  thunder,  can  give  peace  and 
security  to  His  people. 

This  is  one  of  the  nature-psalms — the  poems  which  deal  with  the 
greatness  and  majesty  of  God,  as  shown  forth  in  nature  (c/.  Ps.  viii 
and  xviii).  Palestine,  with  its  contrasts  of  desert,  sea,  and  highland, 
supplies  an  almost  perfect  stage  for  the  furious  scenery  of  terrific 
thunderstorms.  The  psalm  reflects  the  primitive  standpoint  which 
finds  the  chief  terror  of  the  storm  in  the  ‘  voice  of  God  ’ — the  thunder, 
rather  than  in  the  lightning-flash.  The  whole  tone  of  the  psalm  is 
an  cient,  and  the  concluding  verse  suggests  that  Israel  was  stili  great 
and  powerful  as  a  State,  when  the  song  was  composed. 


i.  Psalmus  David.  In  con-  i. 
summatione  tabernaculi. 


Afferte  Domino  filii  Dei : 
afferte  Domino  filios  arietum. 


2.  Afferte  Domino  gloriam  et 
honorem,  afferte  Domino  glori¬ 
am  nomini  ejus  :  adorate  Do¬ 
minum  in  atrio  sancto  ejus. 

3.  Vox  Domini  super  aquas,  3. 
Deus  majestatis  intonuit :  Do¬ 
minus  super  aquas  multas. 

4.  Vox  Domini  in  virtute  :  4. 

vox  Dominion  magnificentia. 

1  5.  Vox  Domini  confringentis  5. 
cedros  :  et  confringet  Dominus 
cedros  Libani : 


A  psalm  of  David.  At  the  close  of  the 
feast  of  Tabernacles. 


[Hark  !]  The  voice  of  the  Lord  o’er  the 
waters  ! 

The  mighty  God  makes  the  thunder  to 
crash. 

The  Lord  over  the  great  waters  ! 

The  voice  of  the  Lord  in  strength  ! 

The  voice  of  the  Lord  in  splendour  ! 

The  voice  of  the  Lord  who  shatters  the 
cedars  ! 

Yea,  the  Lord  doth  shatter  the  cedars 
of  Lebanon, 


Sacrifice  to  the  Lord,  O  ye  children  of 
God  ! 

Offer  in  sacrifice  young  rams  to  the 
Lord  ! 

2.  Give  to  the  Lord  praise  and  honour. 
Give  to  the  Lord  praise  of  His  name, 
Worship  the  Lord  in  His  sacred  shrine. 


100 


THE  GLORY  OF  GOD  IN  A  STORM 


IOI 


6.  Et  comminuet  eas  tam-  6. 

quam  vitulum  Libani :  et  dile¬ 
ctus  quemadmodum  filius  uni¬ 
cornium. 

7.  Vox  Domini  intercidentis  7. 
flammam  ignis  : 

8.  Vox  Domini  concutientis  8. 

desertum :  et  commovebit  Domi¬ 
nus  desertum  Cades. 


And  dasheth  them  headlong  like  the  calf 
of  Lebanon, — 

Even  if  it  is  prized  as  highly  as  a  young 
unicorn. 

The  voice  of  the  Lord  who  cleaveth  the 
flame  of  fire  ! 

The  voice  of  the  Lord  who  maketh  the 
desert  to  tremble  ! 

Yea  !  the  Lord  maketh  to  tremble  the 
desert  of  Kadesh. 


9.  Vox  Domini  praeparantis  9. 
cervos,  et  revelabit  condensa  : 
et  in  templo  ejus  omnes  dicent 
gloriam. 


10.  Dominus  diluvium  inha-  10. 
bitare  facit :  et  sedebit  Do¬ 
minus  rex  in  aeternum. 

11.  Dominus  virtutem  populo  11. 
suo  dabit :  Dominus  benedicet 
populo  suo  in  pace. 


The  voice  of  the  Lord  who  bringeth  hinds 
to  the  bearing, 

And  sweepeth  away  the  foliage  of  the 
thicket  ! 

But  in  ali  His  temple  they  cry — 
"  Glory  !  ” 


The  Lord  dwelleth  in  the  Flood  ; 

And  so  sitteth  enthroned  as  King  for 
ever. 

The  Lord  will  give  to  His  people  strength  ; 
The  Lord  will  bless  His  people  with 
peace. 


1.  In  consummatione  tabernaculi ,  *  for  the  close  of  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles/  The  phrase  bears  no  reference  to  the  setting  up  of 
the  Tabernacle.  In  Hebrew  liturgy  of  the  present  day  the  psalm  is 
used  as  a  Pentecost  psalm. 

The  filii  dei  are  probably  the  angels — though  the  expression 
might  refer  to  the  pious  among  men  ( cf .  Ps.  lxxxviii.  7).  (The  ex- 
planation  which  makes  the  ‘  sons  of  God/=the  Levites  is  improbable.) 

2.  The  angels  are  represented  as  appearing  before  God  in  some 
kind  of  sacred  ritual.  In  the  heavenly  palace  there  is  an  altar,  round 
which  angel-priests,  arrayed  in  garments  of  wondrous  splendour 
(Hebrew  ‘  in  holy  adornment  *  instead  of,  in  atrio  sancto),  minister. 

The  Hebrew  has  nothing  corresponding  to  the  filii  arietum,  ‘  young 
rams.’  The  graphic  similarity  between  the  plurals  of  ’el  (God)  and 
’ayil  (ram)  may  ha  ve  brought  the  reference  to  the  *  young  rams  * 
into  the  Septuagint  and  Vulgate.  If  we  retain  it,  we  must  suppose 
that  the  ritual  worship  of  heaven  is  thought  of  as  including  holo- 
causts,  as  well  as  songs  of  praise. 

In  atrio  sancto  would,  in  the  context,  naturally  mean  ‘  in  heaven  *  ; 
but,  as  already  noted,  the  corresponding  phrase  in  the  Hebrew 
describes  the  dress  of  the  ministering  angels.  (With  the  psalmists 
invitation  to  the  angels  to  praise  the  Lord,  compare  Ps.  cii.  20  ; 
cxlviii  2.) 

3.  The  angels  are  called  on  to  worship  God  because  of  the  exceed- 
ing  greatness  of  the  majesty  which  is  shown  forth  in  the  thunder- 
storm.  Vox  Domini,  is  the  thunder. 


102 


THE  PSALMS 


4ff.  The  storm  comes  from  the  Mediterranean,  and  sweeps  inland 
over  the  hilis,  and  southwards  over  the  desert.  The  mighty  cedars 
of  Lebanon  are  mere  toys  of  the  storm.  The  whole  forest  of  Lebanon 
and  Hermon  is  swayed  to  and  fro  (‘  dances  ’)  in  the  storm,  and  then 
is  hurled  headlong  down  the  mountain  side. 

6.  This  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  texts  of  the  Vulgate  Psalter. 
The  Hebrew  is  ciear  enough  :  ‘  He  makes  Lebanon  skip  like  a  calf  ; 
and  Sirion  like  a  young  unicorn.’  Sirion  is  the  Phoenician  name  for 
Hermon,  and  the  poet  pictures  the  swaying  of  the  forest-trees  after 
the  fashion  of  the  skipping  of  a  calf  or  young  bison.  But  the 
Latin  gives  us  dilectus  instead  of  Sirion  and  speaks  of  shattering  the 
‘  Calf  of  Lebanon  ’  ;  further,  Dilectus  quemamodum  filius  unicornium 
seems  to  be,  in  the  Vulgate,  an  independent  sentence.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  *  dilectus  ’  represents  Sion,  and  that  the  sense  is,  ‘  Even 
Sion  dances  in  the  thunderstorm  like  a  young  bison.’  The  Hebrew 
is  here  obviously  preferable  to  the  Vulgate.  (DoesJthe  use  of  the 
Phoenician  name  Sirion  for  Hermon  imply  that  this  poem  was  written 
in  the  Northern  Kingdom  ?  The  poem  is,  beyond  all  dispute,  very 
ancient.) 1 

7.  The  liglitning  also  is  dreadful.  (The  phrase,  ‘  cleaving  of  the 
flame  ’  is  obscure,  and  the  text  is,  probably,  defective.) 

8.  From  Western  sea  and  northern  highland  the  storm  sweeps 
down  to  the  Southern  steppes — to  the  district  of  Kadesh.  Here  the 
earth  itself  begins  to  tremble,  as  in  an  earthquake,  at  the  voice  of 
the  Lord. 

9.  10.  Animals  in  their  terror  bring  forth  their  young  untimely. 
The  trees  of  the  forest  shake  off  their  leaves  in  fear.  Yet,  while  earth 
is  full  of  quaking  at  the  majesty  that  overwhelms  it,  the  heavenly 
choir  of  angel-priests  cries  out,  ‘  Glory  !  ’  The  deluge  which  folio ws 
the  thunder-storm  reminds  the  poet  of  the  Great  Deluge.  Now,  as 
then,  the  God  of  nature  sits  untroubled  on  His  throne.  (Compare 
Ps.  xcvi,  especially  xcvi.  1-9.) 

11.  Surely  a  God  so  mighty  will  help  His  own  people — is  the 
poet’s  last  reflection  on  the  storm.  Thus  it  may  be  said  that  the 
psalm  begins  with  Gloria  in  excelsis  and  ends  with  in  terra  pax. 


1  For  Siryon  as  Phoenician  (Sidonian)  name  of  Hermon,  see  Deut.  iii.  9. 
The  mountain  is  called  Sanir  in  Assyrian  texts.  The  substitution  of  dilectus  for 
Siryon  is  due  to  the  circumstance  that  the  Greek  translators  read  in  their  Hebrew 
text,  yeshurun,  instead  of  we  siryon  (=and  Siryon).  Yeshurun  appears  as  a 
honorific  name  of  Israel  in  Deut.  xxxii.  15  ;  xxxiii.  5,  26  ;  Is.  xliv;  2,  and  in  all 
these  places  it  is  represented  in  the  Septuagint  by  r/yuirr/ /utros  {dilectus).  In 
Deut.  xxxii.  15.  the  Vulgate  represents  Yeshurun  by  dilectus ;  in  the  other  texts 
of  Deuteronomy  the  Vulgate  gives  the  more  correct  rendering  rectissimus.  It 
is  difficult  to  explain  why  the  Septuagint  represents  Yeshurun  by  r/ya-m/ /utros. 
(See  note  Ps.  lxvii.  13).  It  would  appear  as  if  the  Greek  translators  of  this 
psalm  took  the  shattering  of  the  cedars  of  Lebanon  as  symbolical  of  the  destruc- 
tion  of  the  peoples  and  princes  who  should  oppose  the  Messianic  King.  Israel, 
as  the  people  of  the  Messias,  would  naturally  be  thought  of  as  helping  Him  to 
destroy  His  foes. 


PSALM  XXIX 


A  SONG  OF  THANKS  FOR  RESCUE 


THE  singer  was  at  the  point  of  death  when  he  was  rescued. 
In  his  great  need  he  prayed,  and  his  prayer  was  heard.  For 
this  he  thanks,  and  will  always  thank,  his  Helper,  God. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  psalm  to  exclude  Davidic  origin. 
It  may  be  a  song  of  thanksgiving  arising  out  of  some  situation  of 
DavkTs  career.  Possibly  it  deals  with  the  deadly  perii  which  over- 
shadowed  Israel  in  the  pestilence  by  which  David/ s  overweening  pride 
{cf.  verses  7-8)  was  punished  (II  Kings  xxiv.).  During  the  pestilence 
David  and  his  household  wore  the  garment  of  mourning  of  which 
verse  12  speaks  (I  Par.  xxi.  16).  The  psalm  would,  in  this  view, 
deal  rather  with  the  griefs  of  the  nation  Israel,  than  with  the  personal 
experience  of  the  poet.  The  words  of  the  title  :  Canticum  (more 
correct  than  Cantici:  see  note  1.)  in  dedicatione  domus  are  a  late 
addition,  due,  probably,  to  the  circumstance  that  this  psalm  was 
sung  at  the  Feast  of  Dedication  established  by  Judas  Maccabeus 
in  165  b.c.  (I  Macc.  iv.  48-59  ;  cf.  John  x.  22).  There  is  nothing  in 
the  psalm  to  show  that  it  was  written  for  that  Feast. 

1.  Psalmus  Cantici.  In  dedi-  1.  A  psalm:  for  the  dedication  of  the 
catione  domus  David.  Temple  ;  by  David. 


2.  Exaltabo  te  Domine  quo-  2. 
niam  suscepisti  me :  nec  de¬ 
lectasti  inimicos  meos  super  me. 


I  praise  Thee,  O  Lord,  for  Thou  dost 
guard  me, 

And  givest  not  to  my  enemies  joy 
over  me  ! 


3.  Domine  Deus  meus  cla-  3. 
mavi  ad  te,  et  sanasti  me. 

4.  Domine  eduxisti  ab  inferno  4. 
animam  meam  :  salvasti  me  a 
descendentibus  in  lacum. 


5.  Psallite  Domino  sancti  5. 

ejus :  et  confitemini  memoriae 
sanctitatis  ejus. 

6.  Quoniam  ira  in  indigna-  6. 

tione  ejus  :  et  vita  in  voluntate 
ejus. 

Ad  vesperum  demorabitur  fle¬ 
tus  :  et  ad  matutinum  laetitia. 


O  Lord,  my  God,  I  cried  to  Thee, 

And  Thou  didst  heal  me  : 

O  Lord,  Thou  hast  drawn  forth  my  soul 
from  the  underworld  ; 

Thou  hast  rescued  me  from  out  of  those 
that  go  down  into  the  pit. 

Sing  to  the  Lord,  ye  who  worship  Him, 
And  praise  His  holy  name  ! 

For  chastisement  is  through  His  wrath  ; 

And  life  through  His  favour. 

If  there  are  tears  in  the  evening, 

There  will  be  joy  in  the  morning. 


103 


THE  PSALMS 


i°4 


7.  Ego  autem  dixi  in  abun¬ 
dantia  mea  :  Non  movebor  in 
aeternum. 

8.  Domine  in  voluntate  tua, 
praestitisti  decori  meo  virtutem. 

Avertisti  faciem  tuam  a  me, 
et  factus  sum  conturbatus. 

9.  Ad  te  Domine  clamabo : 
et  ad  Deum  meum  deprecabor. 

10.  Quae  utilitas  in  sanguine 
meo,  dum  descendo  in  corruptio¬ 
nem  ? 

Numquid  confitebitur  tibi  pul¬ 
vis,  aut  annuntiabit  veritatem 
tuam  ? 

11.  Audivit  Dominus,  et  mi¬ 
sertus  est  mei  :  Dominus  factus 
est  adjutor  meus. 


7.  I  said  in  my  great  happiness  : 

“  I  will  ne  ver  fail.” 

8.  In  Thy  good  pleasure,  O  Lord,  Thou 

hadst  added  strength  to  my  fair  out- 
ward  seeming  ; 

But  then  Thou  didst  turn  Thy  face 
from  me,  and  I  was  dismayed. 

9.  To  Thee,  O  Lord,  I  cried  ; 

And  to  my  God  I  prayed. 

10.  “  What  profit  is  there  in  my  blood,  when 
I  go  down  to  the  grave  ? 

Can  mere  dust  praise  Thee,  and  pro- 
claim  Thy  faithfulness  ?  ” 


11.  The  Lord  heard  me  and  took  pity  on  me  ; 
The  Lord  became  my  Helper, 


12.  Convertisti  planctum  me¬ 
um  in  gaudium  mihi  :  conscidi¬ 
sti  saccum  meum,  et  circumde¬ 
disti  me  laetitia  : 

13.  Ut  cantet  tibi  gloria  mea, 
et  non  compungar :  Domine 
Deus  meus  in  aeternum  confite¬ 
bor  tibi. 


12.  Thou  hast  turned  my  plaint  into  joy  ; 

Thou  hast  rent  my  garments  of 
mourning, 

And  hast  clad  me  with  gladness. 

13.  So  that  my  soul  may  sing  to  Thee, 

And  I  need  not  keep  the  silence  of  grief. 
O  Lord,  my  God,  for  ever  I  will  praise 
Thee  ! 


1.  Psalmus  cantici  is  difficult  to  explain.  Canticum  translates 
Hebrew  shir,  which  has  a  wider  meaning  than  mizmor  (represented 
by  psalmus).  This  double  designation  is  found  also  in  the 
superscriptions  of  Psalms  xlvii,  lxvi,  lxvii,  lxxiv,  lxxxvi,  xci. 
The  combinat  ion  in  inverted  form — Canticum  psalmi ,  is  found  in 
Psalms  lxv,  lxxxii,  lxxxvii,  cvii.  Possibly  the  superscription  has 
arisen  here  through  the  insertion  of  shir  hanukkath  habbayith  (‘  a  song 
for  the  Dedication  of  the  Temple  ’),  in  the  familiar  combination 
mizmor  leDawid.  We  should,  in  this  view,  translate  :  '  A  psalm  by 
David,  an  Ode  for  the  Dedication  of  the  Temple/  The  inserted 
clause  would  be  the  work  of  a  late  liturgical  editor  (living  about 
165  B.C.). 

2.  Suscepisti  me,  *  drawn  me  forth/  Captives  were  often  kept 
in  a  cistern  or  well.  C/.  Jerome  xxxviii.  6-13. 

4.  David  (or  Israel)  was  at  deatt/s  door  when  rescue  came.  In 
spirit,  the  singer  was  already  in  Sheol  when  he  turned  to  God  in 
passionate  prayer  for  help. 

5.  The  prayer  was  heard,  and  thanksgiving  folio ws  at  once  on 
the  granting  of  the  petition. 

6.  The  Hebrew  is  here  different :  ‘  His  anger  endures  but  a 
moment,  but  a  life-time  His  favour/  The  second  half  of  the  verse 
expresses  the  swift  and  sudden  change  from  sadness  to  joy.  Mis- 
fortune  and  suffering  are  the  tokens  of  God’s  displeasure  ;  they 


A  SONG  OF  THANKS  FOR  RESCUE 


105 

disappear  when  God  makes  the  light  of  His  face  shine  again  on  the 
sinner. 

7.  Here  is  described  the  attitude  of  the  singer  when  the  sudden 
misfortune  overtook  him. 

8.  The  Vulgate  means  :  Thou  didst  add  to  external  honour 
external  power.  The  Hebrew  says  :  ‘  Thou  hadst  set  me  up  in  Thy 
favour  on  firm  mountains/  He  had  been  overweeningly  confident 
that  God’s  favour  would  continue.  He  felt  sure  he  could  not  fail. 
Then,  all  at  once,  came  sickness,  or  other  misfortune,  and  death  and 
failure  were  close  at  hand.  Then  the  singer  burst  out  into  the  pro- 
testing  prayer  to  which  he  referred  before  in  verse  3.  If  he  dies,  God 
will  no  longer  receive  the  homage  of  his  praise,  particularly,  the 
homage  of  his  praise  of  the  divine  fidelity.  The  thought  is  similar 
to  that  of  Ps.  vi.  6  and  Ps.  cxv.  6.  C/.  also  the  following  psalm 
passages  :  lxxxvii.  6,  12  ;  cxiii.  17  ;  cxlv.  2,  4  ;  cxvii.  17  ;  and  also 
Job  x.  21,  22  ;  vii.  9  ;  Is.  xxxviii.  18  ;  Eccles.  ix.  10. 

12.  The  saccus  is  the  garment  of  penance  and  mourning.  With 
circumdedisti  Icetitia — cf.  scuto  bonce  voluntatis  tuce  coronasti  nos  (v.  13). 
The  close-clinging  garment  of  sorrow  God  has  pulled  off,  and  replaced 
by  a  festive  robe. 

13.  Gloria= anima,  i. e.  ‘  I  will  sing  to  Thee/  Cf.  for  this  use  of 
gloria,  Ps.  Ivi.-  9  ;  Exurge  gloria,  mea  ;  exurge  psalterium  et  cithara . 
In  both  cases,  however,  ‘  gloria  ’  may  be  some  kind  of  song  of  praise, 
so  that  here  the  meaning  may  be  :  f  that  a  never  ending  song  may 
hymn  Thee/ 

Compungar,  Jerome  has  :  et  non  taceat.  The  meaning  is  :  *  That 
I  may  not  be  so  overcome  by  grief  as  to  be  forced  to  keep  silence.’ 


PSALM  XXX 


A  PRAYER  IN  TIME  OF  NEED 


THERE  is  no  very  definite  development  of  idea  throughout 
this  psalm.  It  contains  expressions  of  confidence,  petition, 
complaint,  and  thanksgiving,  and  these  do  not,  in  e  very 
case,  seem  to  pass  over  into  each  other  naturally.  The 
poem  gives  the  impression  of  being  built  up  on  conventional  lines  of 
liturgical  psalmody,  and  does  not  appear  to  be  a  natural  expression 
of  personal  or  communal  experience.  The  title  pro  extasi  which  is 
wanting  in  several  ancient  Latin  Psalters,  and  has  nothing  corre- 
sponding  to  it  in  the  oldest  Greek  Codices,  nor  in  the  Hebrew,  is 
obviously  derived  from  verse  23.  If  David  is  to  be  regarded  as 
the  author  of  the  psalm,  it  belongs  to  the  period  of  his  persecution 
by  Saul,  and,  in  particular,  to  the  time  when  he  was  in  the  desert  of 
Maon  and  had  begun  to  despair  of  being  able  to  evade  Saul  (cf.  I  Kings 
xxiii.  26).  The  prophet  Jonas  has  borrowed  from  this  psalm  verses 
7  and  23  (cf.  Jon.  ii.  5,  9).  Our  Lord  used  verse  6  on  the  cross,  and 
verses  10-16  might  be  taken  as  prophetically  descriptive  of  Our  Lord 
in  His  Passion.  The  psalm,  however,  is  not  immediately  Messianic  ; 
but  it  may  be  regarded  as  (in  passages  at  least)  indirectly  or  figuratively 
Messianic.  The  history  of  David  and  of  Israel  may  be  taken  generally 
as  typical  of  the  career  of  the  Messias.  The  critics  who  maintain  the 
post-exilic  dating  of  this  poem,  find  in  it  several  imitations  or  echoes 
of  Jeremias  (verse  11 — Jer.  xx.  18  ;  13 b — Jer.  xxii.  28  ;  14 — Jer. 
xx.  10  ;  18 — Jer.  xvii.  18  ;  23 — Lament.  iii.  54).  It  is  interesting 
to  note  in  this  psalm  the  echoes  of  several  other  psalms  (cf.  verses  2-4 
and  Ps.  lxx.  1-3  ;  verse  4  and  Ps.  xxii.  3  ;  verse  5  and  Ps.  ix.  16  ; 
verse  9  and  Ps.  xvii.  20  ;  verse  12  and  Ps.  xxxvii.  12). 


1.  In  finem,  Psalmus  David,  1. 
pro  extasi. 


2.  In  te  Domine  speravi,  non  2. 
confundar  in  aeternum  :  in  ju¬ 
stitia  tua  libera  me. 

3.  Inclina  ad  me  aurem  tuam,  3. 
accelera  ut  eruas  me. 

Esto  mihi  in  Deum  protecto¬ 
rem  :  et  in  domum  refugii,  ut 
salvum  me  facias. 

4.  Quoniam  fortitudo  mea,  et  4. 
refugium  meum  es  tu  :  et  pro¬ 
pter  nomen  tuum  deduces  me, 

-et  enutries  me. 


For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of  David. 
For  time  of  bewilderment. 


In  Thee,  O  Lord,  I  put  my  trust ; 

Let  me  not  be  put  to  shame  ! 

Because  of  Thy  justice  rescue  me  ! 

Turn  to  me  Thy  ear  ! 

Swiftly  rescue  me  ! 

Be  to  me  a  protecting  God  ! 

And  a  place  of  refuge  so  that  Thou  mayest 
save  me  ! 

For  Thou  art  my  strength  and  my 
refuge  ; 

And  because  of  Thy  name  Thou  wilt 
guide  me,  and  foster  me. 

106 


A  PRAYER  IN  TIME  OF  NEED 


5.  Educes  me  de  laqueo  hoc,  5. 
quem  absconderunt  mihi  :  quo¬ 
niam  tu  es  protector  meus. 

6.  In  manus  tuas  commendo  6. 
spiritum  meum  :  redemisti  me 
Domine  Deus  veritatis. 


7.  Odisti  observantes  vani-  7. 

tates,  supervacue. 

Ego  autem  in  Domino  speravi: 

8.  Exsultabo,  et  laetabor  in  8. 

misericordia  tua. 

Quoniam  respexisti  humilita¬ 
tem  meam,  salvasti  de  necessi¬ 
tatibus  animam  meam. 

9.  Nec  conclusisti  me  in  ma-  9. 
nibus  inimici  :  statuisti  in  loco 
spatioso  pedes  meos. 

10.  Miserere  mei  Domine  quo-  10. 
niam  tribulor  :  conturbatus  est 

in  ira  oculus  meus,  anima  mea, 
et  venter  meus  : 

11.  Quoniam  defecit  in  do-  11. 

lore  vita  mea  :  et  anni  mei  in 
gemitibus. 

Infirmata  est  in  paupertate 
virtus  mea  :  et  ossa  mea  con¬ 
turbata  sunt. 

12.  Super  omnes  inimicos  12. 

meos  factus  sum  opprobrium 

et  vicinis  meis  valde  :  et  timor 
notis  meis. 

Qui  videbant  me,  foras  fuge¬ 
runt  a  me  : 

13.  Oblivioni  datus  sum,  tam-  13. 
quam  mortuus  a  corde. 

Factus  sum  tamquam  vas 
perditum  : 

14.  Quoniam  audivi  vitupera-  14. 

tionem  multorum  commoranti¬ 
um  in  circuitu. 

In  eo  dum  convenirent  simul 
adversum  me,  accipere  animam 
meam  consiliati  sunt. 

15.  Ego  autem  in  te  speravi  15. 
Domine  :  dixi  :  Deus  meus  es  tu  : 

16.  In  manibus  tuis  sortes  16. 

meae. 

Eripe  me  de  manu  inimicorum 
meorum,  et  a  persequentibus  me. 

17.  Illustra  faciem  tuam  super  17. 
servum  tuum,  salvum  me  fac  in 
misericordia  tua  : 

18.  Domine  non  confundar,  18. 

quoniam  invocavi  te. 

Erubescant  impii,  et  dedu¬ 
cantur  in  infernum  : 

19.  Muta  fiant  labia  dolosa.  19. 

Quae  loquuntur  adversus  ju¬ 
stum  iniquitatem,  in  superbia, 

et  in  abusione. 


Thou  wilt  loose  me  from  the  snare 
which  they  have  secretly  laid  for 
me. 

For  Thou  art  my  Protector  ; 

Into  Thy  hands  I  entrust  my  spirit 
Thou  dost  rescue  me,  O  Lord,  Thou 
faithful  God  ! 


Thou  hatest  those  who  hold  to  vain  idols. 

But  I  do  put  my  trust  in  the  Lord. 

I  exuit  and  rejoice  because  of  Thy  good- 
ness  : 

For  Thou  dost  look  upon  my  humilia- 
tion, 

And  bringest  rescue  to  my  soul  in 
times  of  need. 

Thou  dost  not  surrender  me  into  the 
hands  of  enemies  ; 

Thou  settest  my  feet  in  open  spaces. 

Have  mercy  on  me,  O  Lord,  for  I  am 
straitened  ! 

My  eye  is  dim  because  of  trouble  [my 
soul  and  my  body]. 

For  my  life  is  passing  away  in  pain  ; 

And  my  years  in  sighs. 

My  strength  is  weakened  through  misery  ; 

And  my  bones  are  shaken. 


Because  of  all  my  foes  I  have  become  an 
object  of  bitter  reproach  ; 

Even  to  my  neighbours,  and  to  friends 
have  I  become  an  object  of  dread. 

They  that  see  me  abroad,  do  fly  from  me. 

To  oblivion  I  am  abandoned  altogether, 
like  one  dead  ; 

I  am  become  like  a  shattered  vessel. 

For  I  hear  the  censure  of  many, 

Who  dwell  round  about ; 

When  they  gather  together  against  me, 

They  plan  to  take  my  life. 

But  I  put  my  trust  in  Thee,  O  Lord  ! 

I  say  :  Thou  art  my  God  ! 

In  Thy  hand  is  my  fate  ;  snatch  me  from 
the  power 

Of  my  foes  and  persecutors  ! 

Let  Thy  face  shine  upon  Thy  servant ; 

Save  me  for  the  sake  of  Thy  mercy  ! 

O  Lord,  let  me  not  be  put  to  shame,  for 
I  call  on  Thee  ! 

May  the  godless  be  brought  to  shame, 
and  cast  down  to  the  underworld. 

May  deceiving^ips  be  silent, 

'Which  speak  evil  things  against  the 
just  man, 

In  pride  and  contempt. 


io8 


THE  PSALMS 


20.  Quam  magna  multitudo  20. 
dulcedinis  tuae  Domine,  quam 
abscondisti  timentibus  te. 

Perfecisti  eis,  qui  sperant  in 
te,  in  conspectu  filiorum  homi¬ 
num. 

21.  Abscondes  eos  in  abscon-  21. 
dito  faciei  tuae  a  conturbatione 
hominum. 

Proteges  eos  in  tabernaculo 
tuo  a  contradictione  linguarum. 


How  rich  is  Thy  great  goodness,  O  Lord, 
Which  Thou  storest  up  for  those  who 
fear  Thee, 

Which  Thou  dost  accomplish  for  those 
that  trust  in  Thee, 

Before  all  the  world  ! 

Thou  dost  shield  them  with  the  protec- 
tion  of  Thy  countenance 
From  the  disturbing  schemes  of  men  ; 
Thou  dost  shelter  them  in  Thy  tent 
from  the  calumny  of  tongues. 


22.  Blessed  be  the  Lord  !  for,  in  wondrous 

fashion,  He  doth  show 
His  mercy  towards  me, 

In  a  city  besieged. 

23.  I  had  said  in  the  dismay  of  my  mind, 

“  I  am  cast  out  from  Thy  eyes  !  ” 

Yet  Thou  dost  hear  the  words  of  my 
prayer 

When  I  cry  to  Thee  ! 


22.  Benedictus  Dominus  : 
quoniam  mirificavit  misericor¬ 
diam  suam  mihi  in  civitate 
munita. 

23.  Ego  aute  dixi  in  ex¬ 
cessu  mentis  meae :  Projectus 
sum  a  facie  oculorum  tuorum. 

Ideo  exaudisti  vocem  oratio¬ 
nis  meae,  dum  clamarem  ad  te. 


24.  Diligite  Dominum  omnes  24. 
sancti  ejus  :  quoniam  veritatem 
requiret  Dominus,  et  retribuet 
abundanter  facientibus  super¬ 
biam. 

25.  Viriliter  agite,  et  confor-  25. 
tetur  cor  vestrum,  omnes  qui 
speratis  in  Domino. 


Love  the  Lord  all  ye  that  worship  Him  ; 
For  the  Lord  demandeth  loyalty, 

And  He  doth  fully  requite  those  that 
act  proudly. 

Do  bravely,  and  let  your  courage  be 
strengthened — 

All  you  who  trust  in  the  Lord  ! 


1.  Pro  extasi  obviously  has  crept  in  from  verse  23  ;  it  serves  to 
suggest  the  key-note  of  the  psalm.  Cf.  Ps.  cxv.  2  ;  lxvii.  28,  where 
the  same  Greek  word  is  rendered  by  excessus. 

2.  Non  confundar  in  ceternum^ne  unquam  confundar. 

3.  4.  Accelera  has  here  an  ad  verbi  al  sense  (‘  swiftly  ’). 

In  Deum  and  in  domum — Hebrew  construction.  Cf.  facti  sunt 
in  adjutorium.  The  Hebrew  text  is  here  more  vivid  :  *  Be  Thou  to 
me  a  protecting  Rock,  a  mountain-fortress  to  help  me  :  Thou  art 
my  Rock  and  my  Fortress.’  The  Greek  translators  did  not  regard 
the  vividness  of  the  Hebrew  as  sufficiently  respectful.  Cf.  following 
verse. 

5.  The  snare  is  a  frequently  used  symbol  of  danger.  Here  the 
Hebrew  :  ‘  Thou  art  my  stronghold/  becomes  ‘  Thou  art  my  Pro¬ 
tector.’ 

6.  The  words  of  Our  Lord  on  the  cross.  The  ‘  spirit  ’  is  the 
principle  of  life,  particularly,  of  the  higher,  spiritual  life.  Notice 
here  the  strong  note  of  confidence.  The  confidence  is  based  on  God’s 
fidelity  to  His  promises  (His  veritas). 

7.  Observantes  vafiitates  supervacue.  Hebrew :  '  Thou  hatest 

those  who  hold  to  vanities  of  nothingness.’  The  *  vanities  of  nothing- 


A  PRAYER  IN  TIME  OF  NEED 


109 


ness  ’  are  usually  explained  as  idols,  but  they  may  be  understood 
more  widely,  perhaps,  to  include  all  things  in  general  that  are  vain 
and  futile  [cf.  Jonas  ii.  9). 

Supervacue,  in  view  of  the  Hebrew  text,  may  be  taken  with 
vanitates,  ‘  most  foolish  of  vain  things/  Some  commentators  see 
here  a  reference  to  divination  and  to  superstition  generally  (i.e. 
vana  observatio),  rather  than  to  idolatry.  As  against  all  vain  trust 
in  idols,  the  psalmist  puts  all  his  hope  in  God. 

8.  In,  ‘  on  account  of/  Humlitas,  afiliction,  humiliation. 

N eces  sitas = augusti  ce . 

9.  Conclusisti,  *  shut  in  *  ;  here  means  '  hand  over/  Instead 
of  this  God  has  given  the  psalmist  the  fullest  of  freedom.  Constraint 
implies  grief  and  pain  ;  freedom  of  movement  in  open  places 
implies  gladness  and  joy.  Cf.  In  tribulatione  dilatasti  mihi  (Ps. 
iv.  2)  ;  dilatasti  gressus  meos  subtus  me  (Ps.  xvii.  37)  ;  ambulabam 
in  latitudine  (cxviii.  45)  ;  exaudivit  me  in  latitudine  Dominus  (cxvii.  5). 

10.  Conturbatus ,  etc.  Cf.  Ps.  vi.  8  :  Turbatus  est  a  furore  oculus 
meus.  Ira,  vexation  rather  than  anger.  Ocidus,  anima  and  venter, 
taken  together,  express  the  full  physical  and  psychical  nature 
of  man.  His  whole  self  is  disturbed.  (Several  commentators 
regard  anima  mea  et  venter  meus  as  a  gloss.)  It  is  possible  in  the 
Vulgate  to  understand  ira  as  God’s  anger,  and  then  the  rest  of  the 
verse  would  express  the  effect  of  God’s  anger  on  the  person  of  the 
psalmist.  But  it  is  better  to  take  ira  as  the  psalmist ’s  own  anxiety 
or  trouble. 

11.  Defecit,  *  is  consumed/  Cf.  Ps.  ix.  7. 

Paupertas,  abandonment,  misery.  Cf.  Unicus  et  pauper  sum 
ego  (xxiv.  16).  Ossa  is  parallel  to  virtus. 

12.  Super  would  naturally  mean  here  f  more  than  ’  ;  yet,  since 
the  enemies  are  the  source  of  the  psalmisfs  trouble,  the  sense  is 
probably  ‘  because  of/ 

Vicinis  meis,  ‘  even  to  my  neighbours  ’  ;  valde  may  be  taken  with 
opprobrium.  The  condition  of  the  singer  seems  to  be  that  of  a  man 
smitten  with  a  disease  from  which  his  fellow-men  fly  with  loathing 
and  fear. 

13.  The  sense  would  appear  more  clearly  if  the  words  were 
arranged  :  oblivioni  datus  sum  a  corde,  tamquam  mortuus.  The 
heart  is  the  seat  of  memory.  The  fragments  of  a  shattered  vessel 
of  clay  are  a  symbol  of  all  that  is  most  worthless  and  mean. 

14.  The  ‘  for  '  refers  back  probably  to  the  petition  in  verse  13. 
In  eo  dum  conveniunt  is  a  paraphrase  of  the  Greek  construction. 
Instead  of  commorantium  in  circuitu  the  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  fear  on  every 
side/  The  Greek  translato rs  omitted  the  m  of  magor  (fear)  because 
the  preceding  word  ended  with  m,  and  added  an  m  to  the  gr  because 
the  following  word  began  with  m.  The  new  word  was  read  as  garim 
(dwellers).  Thus  magor  missabhibh  (‘  fear  on  every  side  ’)  became 


IIO 


THE  PSALMS 


garim  missabhibh,  ‘  dwellers  round  about/  It  will  be  remembered,  of 
course,  that  the  Hebrew  text  which  the  Greek  translators  had  before 
them,  was  purely  consonant al. 

16.  Sortes  ;  Hebrew,  ‘  my  times/  i. e.  my  fate.  The  Greek  trans- 
lators  read  kleroi  for  kairoi. 

17.  *  Let  Thy  face  shine  on  me/  means,  ‘  show  me  favour/  Cf. 
the  priestly  blessing,  Nmnbers  vi.  24-26  ;  cf.  Ps.  lxvi.  2. 

18.  Deducantur  ;  Hebrew,  *  may  they  be  dumb  to  Sheol.'  Cf. 
I  Kings  ii.  6. 

19.  Loqui  iniquit  at  em= loqui  inique.  In  superbi a= superbe.  Abusio, 
mocking,  contempt. 

20.  Multitudo  dulcedinis,  ‘  great  goodness/  A.bscondere,  store  up. 
Perfecisti  is  parallel  here  to  abscondisti.  In  conspectu,  etc.,  so  that 
all  men  can  see,  and  admire  it. 

21.  The  idea  is  that  the  Divine  countenance  is  itself  a  shield. 
So  also  God’s  protection  is  a  tent  into  which  the  just  can  come  for 
shelter.  But  the  psalmist  may  be  thinking  in  both  clauses  of  the 
Tabernacle  in  which  God  dwelt  in  the  desert. 

Perturbatio,  tumuit  and  intriguing :  Contradictio  linguarum, 

‘  contentious  tongues/  The  attitude  of  the  psalmist  is  like  that  of 
St.  Paul  in  II  Cor.  vii.  4  :  Repletus  sum  consolatione,  super  abundo 
gaudio  in  omni  tribulatione  nostra. 

22.  Misericordiam  mirificare,  to  show  love  in  wondrous  wise. 

In  civitate  munita,  ‘  in  a  fortified  city/  or,  ‘  in  a  city  girt  about  * 
(besieged).  The  former  is  a  more  natural  meaning.  Possibly  the 
reference  is  to  the  town  of  Ke‘ila  (I  Kings  23).  The  Hebrew  seems 
to  mean  ‘  in  a  city  of  distress/  i. e.,  perhaps,  a  city  besieged.  A 
slight  change  of  the  Hebrew  would  give  :  ‘  in  time  of  distress/  This 
would  suit  the  context. 

23.  In  excessu,  ‘  consternation/  This  is  the  source  of  the  title 
of  the  psalm.  Ego  .  .  .  mece  is  an  interjected  clause. 

A  facie  oculorum,  ‘  from  before  Thy  eyes/ 

Oratio,  ‘  prayer/ 

24.  25.  Men  must  not  lose  courage.  God  keeps  His  word  and — 
veritatem  requirit — expects  men  to  hold  loyally  to  His  Service. 


PSALM  XXXI 


THE  JOY  OF  PARDON 


THE  singer  declares  him  happy  whose  sin  is  forgiven  (1-7).  He 
himself  has  felt  the  deep  joy  of  being  pardoned,  when  he 
confessed  his  sin  (3-5).  Taught  by  his  own  experience  he 
exhorts  the  pious  to  seek  God  in  due  season,  for  with  God 
is  protection  and  rescue  (6-7).  Men  must  not  set  themselves  up  in 
passion  or  stubborn  pride  against  the  guidance  of  Providence  (8-9). 
Sin  brings  sorrow,  but  trust  in  God  brings  grace  in  fulness.  For  this 
must  ali  the  just  rejoice. 

The  psalm  is  a  development  of  the  thought  expressed  in  Prov. 
xxviii.  13  :  ‘  He  that  hideth  his  sins  shall  not  prosper  ;  but  whoso 
confesseth,  and  forsaketh  them,  shall  have  mercy/  The  thought 
of  the  psalm  is  also  strikingly  like  that  of  the  Johannine  saying  :  f  If 
we  say  we  have  no  sin  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in 
us.  If  we  confess  our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our 
sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness  ’  (I  John  i.  8).  The 
psalm  is  the  second  of  the  penitential  psalms.  It  is  obviously  a 
description,  in  part  at  least,  of  the  poet’s  personal  experience.  It 
describes  in  a  very  powerful  way  the  bitterness  of  the  burden  of  sin 
unconfessed,  and  the  wonderful  peace  and  joy  which  confession  of 
sin  brings  to  the  soul.  It  was  a  favourite  psalm  of  St.  Augustine. 
If  we  are  to  seek  in  David ’s  life  for  an  occasion  of  this  poem,  the  most 
suitable  incident  to  serve  as  such  occasion  would  be  the  reconciliation 
of  David  with  God  after  his  sin  with  Bathsheba  (II  Kings  xii). 


1.  By  David.  A  maskil. 

Happy  are  they  whose  trespasses  are  for¬ 
given, 

And  whose  sins  are  remitted  ! 

2.  Happy  the  man  to  whom  the  Lord 

Attributes  not  sin, 

And  in  whose  spirit  there  is  no  deceit ! 


1.  Ipsi  David  intellectus. 

Beati  quorum  remissae  sunt 
iniquitates :  et  quorum  tecta 
sunt  peccata. 

2.  Beatus  vir,  cui  non  impu¬ 
tavit  Dominus  peccatum,  nec 
est  in  spiritu  ejus  dolus. 

3.  Quoniam  tacui,  invetera-  3- 
verunt  ossa  mea,  dum  clamarem 
tota  die. 

4.  Quoniam  die  ac  nocte  gra-  4. 
vata  est  super  me  manus  tua  : 
conversus  sum  in  aerumna  mea, 
dum  configitur  spina. 


Because  I  spoke  not,  my  bones  grew  old, 
Because  of  my  loud  groaning  the  live- 
long  day. 

For  day  and  night  Thy  hand  lay 

Heavy  on  me  :  I  was  cast  into  misery, 
While  the  thorn  [of  sin]  was  stili  fixed 
in  me. 


1 1 2 


THE  PSALMS 


5.  But  my  sin  I  made  known  to  Thee  ; 

And  my  iniquity  I  hid  not. 

I  said  :  I  will  confess  before  the  Lord 
The  iniquity  (which  speaketh)  against 
me. 

Then  didst  Thou  pardon  my  sin. 


5.  Delictum  meum  cognitum 
tibi  feci :  et  injustitiam  meam 
non  abscondi. 

Dixi :  Confitebor  adversum 
me  injustitiam  meam  Domino  : 
et  tu  remisisti  impietatem  pec¬ 
cati  mei. 

6.  Pro  hac  orabit  ad  te  omnis 
sanctus,  in  tempore  opportuno. 

Verumtamen  in  diluvio  aqua¬ 
rum  multarum,  ad  eum  non  ap¬ 
proximabunt. 

7.  Tu  es  refugium  meum  a  7- 
tribulatione,  quae  circumdedit 

me  :  exsultatio  mea  erue  me  a 
circumdantibus  me. 


8.  Intellectum  tibi  dabo,  et  8. 
instruam  te  in  via  hac,  qua 
gradieris  :  firmabo  super  te 
oculos  meos. 


9.  Nolite  fieri  sicut  equus  et  9. 
mulus,  quibus  non  est  intel¬ 
lectus. 

In  camo  et  fraeno  maxillas 
eorum  constringe,  qui  non  ap¬ 
proximant  ad  te. 

10.  Multa  flagella  peccatoris,  10. 
sperantem  autem  in  Domino 
misericordia  circumdabit. 

11.  Laetamini  in  Domino  et  11. 
exsultate  justi,  et  gloriamini 
omnes  recti  corde. 


Wherefore  let  every  pious  one  turn  to 
Thee  in  prayer 
In  due  season  : 

Even  when  the  multitudinous  waters 
come  in  flood, 

They  will  not  reach  him. 

Thou  art  my  protection  against  the 
affliction  that  besets  me  ! 

[Thou  art]  my  joy  ! 

Save  me  from  those  that  encompass  me 
round  ! 


I  will  give  thee  understanding,  and  I  will 
teach  thee 

In  the  way  which  thou  shalt  traverse  ; 
I  will  keep  my  eyes  fixed  on  thee. 

Be  not  like  the  horse  and  mule, 

Which  have  no  understanding  ; 

With  curb  and  bridle  bind  the  jaws  of 
those 

Who  come  not  nigh  to  thee. 


Many  are  the  scourges  of  the  sinner  ; 

But  loving  kindness  surroundeth  him 
who  hopeth  in  the  Lord. 

Rejoice  in  the  Lord,  and  be  glad,  ye  just 
ones  ! 

And  exuit  all  ye  that  are  upright  of 
heart ! 


1.  Intellectus  is  the  name  of  a  definite  kind  of  poem.  Possibly  it 
means  ‘  didactic  poem/  Though  this  meaning  is  suitable  here,  it 
is  not  satisfactory  everywhere.  The  same  title  is  found  in  Psalms 
xli,  li,  lii,  liii,  liv,  lxxiii,  lxxvii,  lxxxvii,  lxxxviii,  cxli. 

The  technical  phrases  expressing  forgiveness — remissce,  tecta,  non 
imputavit,  seem  to  be  equivalent  in  meaning.  They  imply  that 
forgiveness  means  more  than  that  God  shuts  His  eyes  to  sin.  Note 
St.  PauPs  use  of  this  verse  in  Roms.  iv.  6-9.  (Luther  based  his  theory 
of  non-imputation  as  distinguished  from  real  remission  of  sin,  partly 
on  this  verse.) 

2.  Nec  est,  etc.,  might  be  taken  perhaps  as =quia  non  est,  etc., 
thus  giving  the  condition  of  pardon,  viz.  simplicity  of  heart. 

3.  For  a  time  the  psalmist  tried  to  conceal  his  crime  ;  but  his 


THE  JOY  OF  PARDON 


113 

conscience  ceased  not  to  cry  out  against  him  (dum  clamarem)  ;  and, 
in  the  conflict  between  shame  pressing  to  conceal,  and  conscience 
urging  to  confess,  he  wasted  away,  for  the  hand  of  God’s  displeasure 
lay  heavily  on  him. 

4.  Conversus  sum.  Here  Latin  and  Hebrew  go  different  ways. 

In  cerumna=in  cerumnam .  Mea  is  redundant. 

Spina  is  used  here  symbolically  for  sin.  •  Configitur,  ‘  remains 
inserted/  '  embedded/  in  me.  Possibly  the  phrase  may  be  intended 
as  a  description  of  the  gnawing  of  conscience.  The  Hebrew  says  : 

4  The  sap  of  my  life  was  changed  [as]  by  the  burning  heat  of  summer.’ 

5.  Confession  restored  the  peace  of  spirit. 

Pro  hac,  because  of  my  obtaining  pardon. 

6.  The  Hebrew  says  :  ‘  Wherefore  let  every  pious  one  ha  ve  re- 
course  to  Yahweh  at  the  season  of  finding  ’ — i. e.  at  the  season  when 
He  may  be  found  (cf.  Is.  lv.  6  ;  xlix.  8).  In  the  time  of  swelling  floods  * 
(i. e.  in  time  of  greatest  perii),  the  waters  will  not  reach  him  who  turns 
trustfully  and  simply  to  the  Lord. 

7.  The  pious  man  is  secure  because  the  Lord  is  his  Protector. 
The  Latin  differs  here  from  the  Massora,  and  is  possibly  traceable  to 
a  different  Hebrew  recension. 

8.  It  might  be  supposed  that  God  is  the  speaker  in  verses  8,  9. 
Yet  it  is  probably  better  to  understand  these  verses  as  the  words 
of  the  poet  speaking  like  one  of  the  sages  of  Israel. 

9.  Neither  Vulgate  nor  Hebrew  is  very  ciear  in  this  verse.  The 
general  sense,  however,  is  obvious.  We  must  not  rise  up  in  revolt 
against  God’s  Providence  ;  we  must  not  be  like  the  fiery  steed  or 
stubborn  mule  ;  but  we  must  accept  with  ready  submission  the 
guidance  of  God.  The  obedience  which  beasts  show  only  under  the 
pressure  of  force,  reasonable  beings  should  offer  freely.  One  can 
bring  forward  the  horse  and  the  mule  only  by  force.  Must  God 
also  use  force  with  us  ?  Cf.  Prov.  xxvi.  3  ;  x.  13  ;  xix.  20. 

10.  11.  If  men  will  be  warned  by  the  fate  of  the  godless,  they  will 
secure  the  happiness  which  comes  from  trust  in  God  alone  ;  and  ali 
the  pious  will  join  with  them  in  a  song  of  joy  and  praise  to  God. 


8 


PSALM  XXXII 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD 


THE  psalm  is,  apparently,  a  song  of  national  thanksgiving.  A 
victory  of  GocTs  people  has  shattered  the  pians  of  the  heathen 
princes  and  peoples  who  plotted  IsraeFs  overthrow  (verses 
10-12).  For  the  saving  help  of  the  Lord,  given  according 
to  His  an  cient  promises,  the  people  are  called  on  to  join  in  a  great 
thanksgiving  Service  of  music  and  song  (1-5).  Vainly  do  the  heathen 
peoples  war  against  Him  whose  mere  word  has  formed  heaven  and  the 
stars  that  are  its  host — against  Him  who  filis  the  seas  with  the  same 
ease  with  which  the  peasant  filis  the  water-bottle  from  the  spring — 
against  Him  who  stores  the  upper  and  nether  oceans  within  their 
limits,  as  a  man  stores  corn  in  his  barn  (6,  7).  The  heathen  pians 
He  has  defeated  ;  their  thoughts  were  open  to  the  eyes  of  Him  who 
had  fashioned  their  hearts.  He  has  saved  His  own  people,  whom 
long  ago  He  chose  as  His  own  dear  possession  (8-15).  Not  in  might 
of  armies,  nor  strength  of  men,  nor  in  fleetness  of  war-horse,  does 
victory  or  safety  he.  Nothing  avails  but  loving  trnst  in  God  (16-19). 
The  Lord  has  shown  anew  His  loving  care  for  His  people  ;  that  He 
will  continue  to  watch  over  them  with  power,  the  people  trust.  The 
last  verse — a  prayer  for  the  constant  protection  of  the  Lord,  looks 
like  a  liturgi cal  addition. 

The  occasion  of  this  psalm  cannot  be  determined.  Possibly  the 
national  perii  here  referred  to  was  the  Assyrian  invasion.  The  Hebre w 
text  does  not  ascribe  the  poem  to  David.  Several  phrases  and  some 
turns  of  thought  are  borrowed  by  Psalm  exivi  from  this  psalm. 
-*Modern  criticism  is  inclined  to  regard  Psalm  xxxii  as  a  sort  of  mosaic 
of  quotations  in  which  the  pattern  is  indefinite  and  the  general  artistic 
effect  feeble.  The  theme  of  national  rescue  is,  however,  often  treated 
in  Hebrew  literature,  and  the  somewhat  stereotyped  character  of 
ali  Oriental  poetry  inevitably  produces  similarity  of  treatment  and 
phrase  in  Hebrew  poems  of  resembling  motif.  9 

1.  Psalmus  David.  1.  A  psalm  of  David. 


Exsultate  justi  in  Domino  : 
rectos  decet  collaudatio. 


Praise,  O  ye  just,  the  Lord  ! 
Praising  befitteth  the  upright. 


2.  Confitemini  Domino  in  ci¬ 
thara  :  in  psalterio  decem  chor¬ 
darum  psallite  illi. 


2.  Praise  the  Lord  on  the  zither  ! 

Hymn  to  Him  on  ten-stringed  harps  ! 


3.  Cantate  ei  canticum  no¬ 
vum  :  bene  psallite  ei  in  voci¬ 
feratione. 


3.  Sing  unto  Him  a  new  song  ! 

Sing  loud  to  Him  in  jubilating  chorus  ? 


THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD 


ii 


4.  Quia  rectum  est  verbum 
Domini,  et  omnia  opera  ejus  in 
fide. 

5.  Diligit  misericordiam  et 
judicium  :  misericordia  Domini 
plena  est  terra. 


4.  For  just  is  the  word  of  the  Lord  ; 

And  His  every  deed  is  trustworthy. 

5.  He  loveth  kindliness  and  justice  ; 

The  earth  is  full  of  the  Lord’s  loving- 
kindness. 


6.  Verbo  Domini  coeli  firmati  6. 
sunt :  et  spiritu  oris  ejus  omnis 
virtus  eorum. 

7.  Congregans  sicut  in  utre  7. 
aquas  maris  :  ponens  in  thesau¬ 
ris  abyssos. 


By  the  word  of  the  Lord  the  heavens 
were  made  ; 

And  all  their  host  by  the  word  of  His 
mouth. 

He  gathers,  as  into  a  bottle,  the  waters 
of  the  sea  ; 

The  oceans  He  Stores  up. 


8.  Timeat  Dominum  omnis  8. 

terra  :  ab  eo  autem  commovean¬ 
tur  omnes  inhabitantes  orbem. 

9.  Quoniam  ipse  dixit,  et  9. 

facta  sunt :  ipse  mandavit,  et 
creata  sunt. 

10.  Dominus  dissipat  consilia  10. 
Gentium  :  reprobat  autem  cogi¬ 
tationes  populorum,  et  reprobat 
consilia  principum. 

11.  Consilium  autem  Domini  11. 
in  aeternum  manet :  cogitationes 
cordis  ejus  in  generatione  et 
generationem. 

12.  Beata  gens,  cujus  est  Do-  12. 
minus,  Deus  ejus  :  populus, 
quem  elegit  in  haereditatem  sibi. 


13.  De  coelo  respexit 

Do- 

13- 

minus  :  vidit  omnes  filios 

ho- 

minum. 

14.  De  praeparato  habitaculo 

14. 

suo  respexit  super  omnes, 
habitant  terram. 

qui 

15.  Qui  finxit  sigillatim  corda 
eorum  :  qui  intelligit  omnia 

15. 

opera  eorum. 

16.  Non  salvatur  rex 

per 

16. 

multam  virtutem :  et  gigas 
non  salvabitur  in  multitudine 
virtutis  suae. 

17.  Fallax  equus  ad  salutem  :  17. 

in  abundantia  autem  virtutis 

suae  non  salvabitur. 

18.  Ecce  oculi  Domini  super  18. 
metuentes  eum  :  et  in  eis,  qui 
sperant  super  misericordia  ejus  : 

19.  Ut  eruat  a  morte  animas  19. 
eorum  :  et  alat  eos  in  fame. 


Let  all  the  earth  fear  the  Lord  ! 

Let  all  dwellers  of  the  earth  tremble 
before  Him  ! 

For  He  spoke  and  they  sprang  into  being  ; 
He  gave  command  and  they  were  made . 


The  Lord  frustrateth  the  pians  of  the 
heathen  ; 

And  bringeth  to  naught  the  designs  of 
the  peoples  ; 

And  thwarteth  the  schemes  of  princes. 

But  the  plan  of  the  Lord  standeth  for 
ever — 

The  designs  of  His  heart  from  age  to 
age. 

Happy  the  nation  whose  God  is  the  Lord. 

The  people  whom  He  hath  chosen  as  a 
special  possession. 


From  heaven  the  Lord  looketh  down, 
And  seeth  all  the  children  of  men  : 

From  His  established  dwelling-place  He 
beholds 

All  the  dwellers  of  earth, — 

He  who  did  fashion  the  hearts  of  them  all, 
Who  understandeth  all  their  doings. 


The  king  is  not  saved  by  a  mighty  host ; 
Nor  the  giant  made  secure  by  his  vast 
strength. 

Untrustworthy  for  rescue  is  the  steed  ; 
By  his  great  power  he  is  not  saved. 


Lo  !  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  upon  those 
who  fear  Him, 

And  on  those  who  put  their  hope  in 
His  mercy. 

That  He  may  save  them  from  death, 
And,  in  time  of  hunger,  give  them  food. 


THE  PSALMS 


116 


20.  Anima  nostra  sustinet  Do¬ 
minum  :  quoniam  adjutor  et 
protector  noster  est. 

21.  Quia  in  eo  laetabitur  cor 
nostrum  :  et  in  nomine  sancto 
ejus  speravimus. 


20.  Our  soul  waits  on  the  Lord  ; 

For  He  is  our  help  and  our  shield. 

21.  Our  heart  doth  rejoice  in  Him  ; 

And  in  His  holy  name  we  trust. 


22.  Fiat  misericordia  tua  Do-  22.  Be  Thy  grace  upon  us,  O  Lord, 
mine  super  nos  :  quemadmodum  According  as  we  hope  in  Thee  ! 

speravimus  in  te. 


1.  The  justi  are  the  community  of  Israel. 

2.  The  cithara  (Hebrew :  Kinnor= harp),  and  the  psalterium 
( nebhel )  were  the  two-stringed  instruments  in  familiar  use  among 
the  Hebrews. 

3.  “  New  song  ” — the  new  mercy  that  the  Lord  has  shown,  de- 
mands  a  poetic  effort  surpassing  the  ancient  hymns  of  national  thanks- 
giving.  The  vociferatio  is  the  solemn  vehemence  of  the  sacred  chants 
sung  to  the  music  of  harp  and  psaltery,  and  accompanied  also,  perhaps, 
by  trumpet-clang. 

4.  The  verbum  is  God’s  old-time  promise  to  be  Israeks  protecting 
and  ever-present  God  (implied  in  name  Yahweh).  His  promise  was 
true  and  it  has  now  again  been  loyally  fulfilled. 

6.  The  love  of  the  Lord  and  His  power  are  both  displayed  in 
creation. 

7.  The  Lord’s  endless  power  over  nature,  and  the  ease  of  its 
exercise,  are  here  illustrated.  The  abyssi  are  the  ocean  above  the 
firmament,  and  the  ocean  beneath  the  firmam ent,  which  the  Lord 
holds  easily  within  their  respective  limits.  Is  there  here  an  implied 
contrast  with  the  old  Babylonian  legends  of  creation,  in  which  the 
gods  defeat  Chaos,  and  set  up  a  cosmic  order  only  with  toilsome  effort, 
and  bitter  struggle  ?  Ps.  cxxxiv.  7  speaks  of  the  winds  as  proceeding 
from  the  store-house  of  the  Lord  ;  and,  according  to  Job  xxxviii.  22, 
the  snow  and  hail  are  kept  also  in  a  treasury  or  store-house  of  Yahweh. 

9.  The  Word  which  sufficed  to  build  up  the  world,  should  avail 
to  break  the  strength  of  God’s  enemies. 

10.  In  history,  as  in  nature,  God  is  omnipotent.  We  do  not  know 
what  conspiracy  of  the  heathens  against  God’s  people  is  here  referred 
to  ;  its  defeat  is,  obviously,  the  occasion  of  the  psalm. 

12.  A  sort  of  sigh  of  content  at  the  coming  of  God  s  help. 

13-14.  Here  we  have  aspects  of  the  general  historical  situation. 

Prceparatum,  ‘  established/ 

15.  That  God,  as 'Creator  of  the  human  heart,  knows  all  its  secrets 
is  a  frequent  thought  in  the  Old  Testament. 

16-18.  The  rescue  of  Israel  has  been  due  to  the  Lord  alone,  and 
fear  of  the  Lord  has  been  the  sole  ground  of  victory. 

19.  The  death  in  question  is  death  on  the  battlefield. 

20.  Since  God  has  hitherto  helped  so  faithfully,  we  may  confidently 
hope  that  He  will  continue  to  help.  Hence  the  prayer,  verse  21: 


PSALM  XXXIII 


PEACE  AND  JOY  IN  THE  FEAR  OF  THE 

LORD 

I 

THIS  is  the  fourth  of  the  alphabetical  psalms.  As  in  Psalm  xxiv, 
the  last  verse  is  supernumerary,  and  a  liturgical  addition  ;  as 
in  Psalm  xxiv,  also,  the  sixth  or  vau-ve rse  is  wanting.  The 
poem  consists  of  two  parts.  The  first  (2-1 1)  thanks  the 
Lord  for  gracious  help  and  rescue  given  to  a  loyal  and  lowly  wor- 
shipper  ;  the  second  (12-21)  is  didactic,  reminding  one  of  the  Book 
of  Proverbs.  The  poem  teaches  generally  that  happiness  in  life  is 
to  be  attained  only  through  God-fearingness  of  conduct.  The  good 
may,  indeed,  fall  into  misfortune,  and  be  overtaken  by  grief,  but 
in  the  end,  the  Lord  brings  them  help',  and  makes  their  faces  radiant 
with  gladness. 

The  general  structure  and  tone  of  the  psalm  are  regarded  by 
most  modern  critics  as  indicating  a  late  date.  The  title  in  verse  1 
ascribes  the  origin  of  the  poem  to  the  period  of  David’s  life  when 
he  fled  to  the  court  of  the  Philistine  king,  Achish  of  Gath.1  This 
first  verse  is,  undoubtedly,  a  very  ancient  testimony  to  the 
Dav  dic  origin  of  the  psalm,  and  the  gnomic  style  of  the 
second  part  of  the  poem  is  no  genuine  indication  of  a  post- 
exilic  date.  It  is  true,  however,  that  the  references  in  the  poem  are 
strangely  general  if  they  are  really  due  to  DavkTs  experiences  in  the 
Court  of  Achish.  The  psalm  is  intended  to  serve  as  an  encourage- 
ment  and  as  a  consolation  to  the  pious  (Sancti),  the  God-fearing 
Israelites.  The  ‘  rich  ’  and  ‘  evildoers  ’  and  ‘  sinners  *  may  be  either 
foreigners  (and,  therefore,  foes  of  the  Israelite  people),  or  godless 
Israelites. 

1.  Davidi,  cum  immutavit  1.  [By]  David  when  he  feigned  madness 
vultum  suum  coram  Achimelech  before  Achimelek  and  the  latter  dis- 

et  dimisit  eum  et  abiit.  missed  him,  and  he  went  his  way. 


1 C/.  I  Kings  xxi.  10-22  where  the  king  is  called  Achist,  not,  as  here, 
Achimelek.  The  Septuagint,  Massora,  and  old  Latin  read  more  correctly, 
Abimelech.  Possibly  Abimelech  was  a  general  Hebrew  designation  for  Philistine 
kings.  Two  different  kings  of  Gerar  are  called  Abimelech  in  Gen.  xx.  2  and 
xxvi.  C/.  the  parallel  cases  of  Pharoah  and  Minos.  Abimelech,  which  means 
‘  My  father  is  king/  or  *  father  of  the  king  ’  would  be  a  suitable  designation 
of  foreign  kings  whose  precise  names  were  of  comparative  unimportance. 


1 1 8 


THE  PSALMS 


2.  Benedicam  Dominum  in  2. 

omni  tempore :  semper  laus 

ejus  in  ore  meo. 

3.  In  Domino  laudabitur  ani-  3. 
ma  mea  :  audiant  mansueti,  et 
laetentur. 

4.  Magnificate  Dominum  me-  4. 

cum  :  et  exaltemus  nomen  ejus 

in  idipsum. 

5.  Exquisi vi  Dominum,  et  ex-  5. 
audivit  me  :  et  ex  omnibus  tri¬ 
bulationibus  meis  eripuit  me. 

6.  Accedite  ad  eum,  et  illu-  6. 

minamini  :  et  facies  vestrae  non 
confundentur. 

7.  Iste  pauper  clamavit,  et  7. 

Dominus  exaudivit  eum  :  et  de 
omnibus  tribulationibus  ejus  sal¬ 
vavit  eum. 

8.  Immittet  Angelus  Domini  8. 

in  circuitu  timentium  eum  :  et 
eripiet  eos. 

9.  Gustate,  et  videte  quoni-  9. 

am  suavis  est  Dominus  :  beatus 

vir,  qui  sperat  in  eo. 

10.  Timete  Dominum  omnes  10. 
sancti  ejus  :  quoniam  non  est 
inopia  timentibus  eum. 

1 1 .  Divites  eguerunt  et  esuri-  1 1 . 
erunt :  inquirentes  autem  Domi¬ 
num  non  minuentur  omni  bono. 


12.  Venite  filii,  audite  me  :  12. 

timorem  Domini  docebo  vos. 

13.  Quis  est  homo  qui  vult  13. 
vitam  :  diligit  dies  videre  bonos. 

14.  Prohibe  linguam  tuam  a  14. 
malo  :  et  labia  tua  ne  loquantur 
dolum. 

15.  Diverte  a  malo,  et  fac 
bonum  :  inquire  pacem,  et  per¬ 
sequere  eam. 

16.  Oculi  Domini  super  ju¬ 
stos  :  et  aures  ejus  in  preces 
eorum. 

17.  Vultus  autem  Domini  su¬ 
per  facientes  mala  :  ut  perdat 
de  terra  memoriam  eorum. 

18.  Clamaverunt  justi,  et  Do¬ 
minus  exaudivit  eos  :  et  ex 
omnibus  tribulaionibus  eorumt 
liberavit  eos. 

19.  Juxta  est  Dominus  iis,  19. 
qui  tribulato  sunt  corde  :  et 
humiles  spiritu  salvabit. 

20.  Multae  tribulationes  justo-  20. 
rum  :  et  de  omnibus  his  libera¬ 
bit  eos  Dominus. 

21.  Custodit  Dominus  omnia  21. 
ossa  eorum  :  unum  ex  his  non 
conteretur. 


The  Lord  I  will  praise  at  all  times  : 

Let  His  praise  be  ever  in  my  mouth. 

I  will  boast  of  the  Lord  ; 

The  humble  shall  hear  it  and  rejoice. 

Glorify  the  Lord  with  me  : 

And  let  us  together  praise  His  name. 

I  sought  the  Lord,  and  He  heard  me, 

And  delivered  me  from  all  my  anguish. 

Approach  unto  Him,  and  be  made 
radiant : 

And  ye  will  not  be  abashed. 

This  poor  man  cried,  and  the  Lord  heard 
him, 

And  helped  him  out  of  all  his  troubles. 

The  Angel  of  the  Lord  casts  his  tent 

Around  those  who  fear  Him,  and 
rescues  them. 

Taste  ye,  and  learn  that  the  Lord  is  kind. 

Happy  is  the  man  who  trusteth  in  Him. 

Fear  the  Lord  all  ye  His  worshippers  : 

For  they  have  no  lack  who  fear  Him. 

The  rich  suffer  want,  and  feel  the  pang 
of  hunger. 

But  they  who  seek  the  Lord  lack  no 
good  thing. 


Come,  children,  listen  to  me  : 

I  will  teach  you  the  fear  of  the  Lord. 
Who  is  the  man  who  desireth  life, 

Who  would  gladly  enjoy  pleasant  days? 
Keep  thy  tongue  from  evil : 

And  let  not  thy  lips  speak  deceit. 


The  Lord  is  near  to  the  sad  of  heart ; 
And  to  the  lowly  in  spirit  He  bringeth 
safety. 

Many  are  the  affiictions  of  the  righteous, 
But  the  Lord  delivers  them  out  of 
them  all : 

The  Lord  protecteth  all  their  bones  : 

Not  one  of  them  is  broken. 


15.  Turn  away  from  evil  and  do  good  ; 

Seek  after  peace,  and  pursue  it. 

16.  The  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  on  the  just. 

And  His  ears  [are  open]  to  their 
petitions. 

17.  The  face  of  the  Lord  is  against  those  that 

do  evil, 

To  cut  off  from  earth  the  memory  of 
them. 

18.  If  the  just  call,  the  Lord  doth  hear  them. 

And  rescueth  them  from  all  their 
troubles. 


PEACE  AND  JOY  IN  FEAR  OF  THE  LORD  119 


22.  Mors  peccatorum  pessi¬ 
ma  :  et  qui  oderunt  justum,  de¬ 
linquent. 

23.  Redimet  Dominus  animas 
servorum  suorum  :  et  non  de¬ 
linquent  omnes  qui  sperant  in  eo. 


22.  The  death  of  sinners  is  most  wretched, 

For  guilty  indeed  are  they  who  hate 
the  righteous. 

23.  (The  Lord  doth  guard  the  life  of  His 

servants  : 

And  no  one  sinneth  who  trusteth  in 
Him.) 


3.  The  mansueti  are  the  same  as  the  justi  and  sancti. 

Laudabitur  anima  may  be  a  passive,  ‘  my  soul  will  be  praised/ 

*  regarded  as  blessed  ’  ;  or  as  a  middle,  *  my  soul  will  boast  of  ’  (as 
the  Greek,  l7raa/ecr$?/<x€Tai,  (  will  make  boast 

4.  In  idipsum=una,  simul. 

5.  The  poem  is  a  thanksgiving  for  some  definite  mark  of  God’s 
favour. 

6.  7,  8.  Others  will  be  helped  as  the  singer  has  been,  if,  like  him, 
they  ask  the  help  of  the  Lord.  If  they  turn  to  God,  their  faces  will 
be  lighted  up  (illuminamini)  by  the  light  of  God’s  countenance,  not 
cast  into  gloom  by  the  turning  away  of  His  face.  The  psalmist  is 
himself  the  pauper  ;  it  is  only  such  that  the  Lord  receives,  and  to 
such  He  assigns  a  legion  of  protecting  angels.  Immittere,  ‘  pitch 
camp/  Verse  8  is  often  used  as  a  proof  of  the  existence  of  Guardian 
Angels. 

9.  Gustate — the  Hebrew  word  here  is  unusual,  and  seems  to  be 
due  to  the  exigencies  of  the  Hebrew  acrostic.  Videte  serves  as  a 
gloss  to  it. 

11.  The  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  the  young  lions  famish  and  hunger,  but/ 
etc.  The  lions  hunger  in  spite  of  their  strength,  but  the  weak  who 
trust  in  God  suffer  no  lack  of  good  things. 

12^.  The  address  here  recalls  the  tone  of  the  Sapiential  books. 
Cf.  Prov..  viii.  32^.  We  ha  ve  in  this  section  the  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion  :  ‘  What  is  the  source  of  happiness  and  length  of  days  ?  '  The 
answer  is  :  *  Fear  of  the  Lord  which  shows  itself  in  uprightness  of 
conduct,  and,  above  ali,  in  honesty  of  speech,  and  pursuit  of  peace/ 

16,  17.  These  verses  ought,  probably,  to  change  places.  (I  Peter 
iii.  10-12  has  the  same  arrangement  as  Vulgate  Psalter.) 

1 8ff.  The  wicked  are  punished,  and  the  just  are  rescued — for  the 
most  part ;  even  when  the  just  are  affiicted,  as  they  often  are  (18-20), 
when  their  hearts  are  nigh  broken,  and  their  bones  grievously  smitten, 
the  Lord  saves  them  from  the  extremity  of  sorrow — the  bitterness 
of  such  death  as  awaits  their  persecutors.  It  is  the  belief  of  the 
psalmist  that  those  who  persecute  the  just  must  die  a  miserable 
death. 

Delinquent,  *  will  heap  guilt  on  themselves/  In  Hebrew  the  sense 
is  :  '  will  pay  the  penalty/ 

23.  The  concluding  verse  is  a  part  of  the  poem  ;  it  enables  the 
psalm  to  end  on  a  pleasant  note,  thus  fitting  it  for  liturgical  use. 


PSALM  XXXIV 


A  PRAYER  OF  THE  LOWLY 


THIS  psalm  has  points  of  close  contact  with  Psalms  liv,  lviii, 
lxviii,  and  is  also  connected,  though  more  loosely,  in  thought 
and  phrase  with  several  other  psalms  (xxxix,  xxx,  xxi).  It 
is  the  song  of  a  poet  who  complains  of  the  bitter  hostility 
of  his  foes.  They  have  spoiled  him,  and  sneered  at  him,  and  given 
false  testimony  against  him.  He  himself  is  not  merely  poor  and 
unimportant,  but,  when  his  present  enemies  were  in  trouble,  he  was 
kind  and  sympathetic,  and  shared  their  griefs  as  if  they  had  been  his 
own.  He  earnestly  prays  for  the  Lord’s  assistance  against  his  cynical 
and  cruel  foes.  The  Lord  must  take  up  his  cause,  and  show  forth 
his  innocency,  and  snatch  from  the  lips  of  his  enemies  their  derisive 
boast  of  victory.  The  hostile  scheming  of  his  enemies  must  be 
turned  back  upon  themselves,  so  that  those  who  love  justice  may 
rejoice  when  they  see  that  the  Lord  protects  His  loyal  servants.  The 
psalmist  himself  will  never  cease  to  sing  the  justice  and  greatness  of 
the  Lord. 

Neither  the  occasion  nor  the  date  of  the  psalm  can  be  determined. 
The  theme  is  a  frequent  one — the  prayer  of  the  just  man  against  those 
who  attack  him  unprovoked,  and  there  is  no  reference  to  any  identi- 
fiable  historical  incident.  This,  like  all  the  psalms  in  which  there  is 
question  of  the  persecution  of  the  meek  and  lowly  servants  of  Yahweh, 
is  assigned  by  modern  criticism  to  the  post-exilic  period. 

i.  Ipsi  David.  i.  By  David. 


Judge,  O  Lord,  all  who  strive  against  me  ! 
Fight  against  them  that  attack  me  ! 

2.  Take  shield  and  buckler, 

And  stand  up  to  help  me  ! 


Judica  Domine  nocentes  me, 
expugna  impugnantes  me. 

2.  Apprehende  arma  et  scu¬ 
tum  :  et  exsurge  in  adjutorium 
mihi. 

3.  Effunde  frameam,  et  con¬ 
clude  adversus  eos,  qui  persequ¬ 
untur  me  :  dic  animae  meae  : 
Salus  tua  ego  sum. 

4.  Confundantur  et  reverean¬ 
tur,  quaerentes  animam  meam. 

Avertantur  retrorsum,  et  con¬ 
fundantur  cogitantes  nihi  mala. 

5.  Fiant  tamquam  pulvis  ante 
faciem  venti :  et  Angelus  Do¬ 
mini  coarctans  eos. 


3.  Draw  the  sword,  and  bar  the  way 
Against  those  that  pursue  me. 
Say  to  me  :  I  am  thy  rescue  ! 


4.  Let  them  be  abashed  and  put  to  shame 

Who  seek  my  life  ! 

Let  them  be  driven  backwards,  and  dis- 
graced, 

That  devise  my  hurt  ! 

5.  Be  they  like  dust  before  the  wind, 

While  the  angel  of  the  Lord  doth  drive 
them  on  ! 


120 


A  PRAYER  OF  THE  LOWLY 


121 


6.  Fiat  via  illorum  tenebra?  6. 
et  lubricum :  et  Angelus  Do¬ 
mini  persequens  eos. 

7.  Quoniam  gratis  absconde-  7. 

runt  mihi  interitum  laquei  sui  : 
supervacue  exprobraverunt  ani¬ 
mam  meam. 

8.  Veniat  illi  laqueus,  quem  8. 
ignorat :  et  captio,  quam  ab¬ 
scondit,  upprehendat  eum  :  et 

in  laqueam  cadat  in  ipsum. 

9.  Anima  autem  mea  exsulta-  9. 

bit  in  Domino  :  et  delectabitur 
super  salutari  suo. 

10.  Omnia  ossa  mea  dicent :  10. 

Domine,  quis  similis  tibi  ? 

Eripiens  inopem  de  manu  for¬ 
tiorum  ejus  :  egenum  et  pau¬ 
perem  a  diripientibus  eum. 


11.  Surgentes  testes  iniqui,  11. 

quae  ignorabam  interrogabant 

me. 

12.  Retribuebant  mihi  mala  12. 

pro  bonis  :  sterilitatem  animae 
meae. 

13.  Ego  autem  cum  mihi  mo-  13. 
lesti  essent,  induebar  cilicio. 

Humiliabam  in  jejunio  ani¬ 
mam  meam  :  et  oratio  mea  in 
sinu  meo  convertetur. 

14.  Quasi  proximum,  et  qua-  14. 
si  fratrem  nostrum,  sic  com¬ 
placebam  :  quasi  lugens  et  con¬ 
tristatus,  sic  humiliabar. 

15.  Et  adversum  me  laetati  15. 
sunt,  et  convenerunt :  congre¬ 
gata  sunt  super  me  flagella,  et 
ignoravi. 

16.  Dissipati  sunt,  nec  com-  16. 
puncti,  tentaverunt  me,  sub¬ 
sannaverunt  me  subsannatione  : 
frenduerunt  super  me  dentibus 
suis. 


17.  Domine  quando  respicies?  17. 
restitue  animam  meam  a  mali¬ 
gnitate  eorum,  a  leonibus  uni¬ 
cam  meam. 

18.  Confitebor  tibi  in  ecclesia  18. 
magna,  in  populo  gravi  laudabo 

te. 

19.  Non  supergaudeant  mihi  19. 
qui  adversantur  mihi  inique : 

qui  oderunt  me  gratis  et  annuunt 
oculis. 


Let  their  path  be  dark  and  slippery, 
While  the  angel  of  the  Lord  pursues 
them  ! 

For  without  cause  they  have  set  for  me 
in  secret  their  deadly  snare  : 
Without  cause  they  have  reviled  me. 


May  a  snare  come  upon  him  which  he 
knoweth  not : 

And  may  the  net  which  he  set  in  secret 
enmesh  himself  ! 

And  may  he  fall  into  his  own  snare  ! 

But  I  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord  ; 

And  be  glad  because  of  His  saving  help. 

And  ali  my  bones  shall  say  : 

O  Lord,  who  is  like  unto  Thee, 

Who  deliverest  the  helpless  from  those 
who  are  too  strong  for  him, 

The  needy  and  the  poor  from  those  who 
would  spoil  him  ? 


False  witnesses  rise  up. 

I  am  questioned  as  to  things  I  know 
not. 

Men  requite  me  with  evil  for  good — 
With  utter  desola tion  of  my  soul ! 

But  I,  when  they  were  in  grief,  clad  my- 
self  with  sack-cloth, 

I  humbled  my  soul  with  fasting, 

And  my  prayer  was  directed  towards 
my  bosom. 

As  for  a  friend,  or  for  my  brother, 

I  was  ready  with  my  sacrifice  : 

As  one  grieving  and  deeply  mourning 
With  head  bent  I  walked  about. 

Yet  against  me  they  rejoice  and  hasten 
together  : 

Scourges  are  gathered  against  me  ; 
And,  yet,  I  am  conscious  of  no  guilt ! 

Though  they  became  divided, 

They  felt  no  pity. 

They  put  me  to  the  test ;  they  mocked 
me  with  bitter  mockings. 

They  gnashed  their  teeth  against  me. 


O  Lord,  when  wilt  Thou  look  (on  me)  ? 
Rescue  my  soul  from  their  malice  ! 

My  life  from  the  lions  ! 

Then  will  I  thank  Thee  in  the  great 
Assembly, 

And  praise  Thee  in  the  great  multitude. 
Let  them  not  rejoice  over  me  who  are  my 
enemies  unjustly, 

Who  hate  me  without  cause,  and  mock 
me  with  their  eyes. 


122 


THE  PSALMS 


20.  Quoniam  mihi  quidem  20. 
pacifice  loquebantur :  et  in 
iracundia  terrae  loquentes,  dolos 
cogitabant. 

21.  Et  dilataverunt  super  me  21. 
os  suum  :  dixerunt :  Euge, 
euge,  viderunt  oculi  nostri. 


22.  Vidisti  Domine,  ne  sileas  :  22. 

Domine  ne  discedas  a  me. 

23.  Exsurge  et  intende  judi-  23. 
cio  meo :  Deus  meus,  et  Do¬ 
minus  meus  in  causam  meam. 

24.  Judica  me  secundum  ju¬ 
stitiam  tuam  Domine  Deus 
meus,  et  non  supergaudeant 
mihi. 

25.  Non  dicant  in  cordibus  25. 
suis :  Euge,  euge,  animae  no¬ 
strae  :  nec  dicant :  Devoravi¬ 
mus  eum. 

26.  Erubescant,  et  reverean-  26. 
tur  simul,  qui  gratulantur  malis 
meis. 

Induantur  confusione  et  re¬ 
verentia  qui  magna  loquuntur 
super  me. 

27.  Exsultent  et  laetentur  qui 
volunt  justitiam  meam :  et 
dicant  semper :  Magnificetur 
Dominus,  qui  volunt  pacem 
servi  ejus. 

28.  Et  lingua  mea  meditabi¬ 
tur  justitiam  tuam,  tota  die 
laudem  tuam. 


For  they  speak  indeed  kindly  to  me  ; 

But  after  the  fashion  of  earthly  men  is 
their  thought, 

And  they  devise  treachery  ; 

And  they  open  wide  their  mouth 
against  me. 

They  say  :  “  Ha  !  Ha  ! 

Our  eyes  have  beheld  [success].” 

Thou  seest  this,  O  Lord  :  hold  not  Thy 
peace  ! 

O  Lord  depart  not  from  me  ! 

Arise,  and  give  heed  to  my  right, 

To  my  case,  O  my  God  and  my  Lord  1 


Let  them  not  say  to  themselves  : 

“  Ha  !  Ha  !  Our  wishes  (are  fulfilled)  ! 
(Let  them  not  say :)  ‘‘  We  have 

swallowed  him  up.” 

May  they  be  abashed  and  disgraced 
Who  joy  in  my  woes  ! 


May  they  be  clothed  with  shame  and 
ignominy 

Who  speak  arrogantly  against  me  ! 

27.  May  they  rejoice  and  be  glad  who  desire 

my  justification  ; 

May  they  say  unceasingly  : 

“  Glorified  be  God  !  ” — 

All  who  wish  for  the  peace  of  His 
servant  ! 

28.  And  my  tongue  shall  proclaim  Thy 

righteousness, 

And  Thy  praise,  all  the  day  long. 


24.  According  to  Thy  justice  judge  me,  O 
Lord  my  God, 

And  let  not  those  rejoice  over  me  ! 


1.  Nocentes  me  instead  of  nocentes  mihi.  The  Hebrew  refers  to 
an  impleading  of  the  psalmist. 

2.  ‘  Take  the  round  and  the  square  shield.’  Arma  is  in  Jerome’s 
translation,  more  correctly,  scutum. 

3.  Effunde,  draw  :  framea,  sword.  Conclude,  '  bar  ' — the  way, 
being  understood. 

4.  Cf.  xxxix.  15,  and  here  verse  26.  The  two  verbs  confundi 
and  revereri  express  with  intensity  the  idea  of  confusion  and  disgrace. 
Animam  quczrere,  to  seek  to  take  life  (cf.  xxxix.  15  ;  liii.  5  ;  lxii.  10  ; 
lxix.  3). 

5.  We  have  here  again  the  angel  of  Psalm  xxxiii.  8.  Coarctans, 
Psalt.  Rom.  has  affligens  ;  Jerome  impellat. 

6.  Tenebrce — substantive  for  adjective  in  Hebrew  fashion.  Cf. 
Confessio  et  magnificentia  opus  ejus  (cx.  3). 

7.  The  enemies  of  the  singer  have  received  no  provocation — hence 


A  PRAYER  OF  THE  LOWLY 


123 


.gratis  means,  ‘  without  cause/  Interitum  laquei,  ‘  destroying  net  ' 
(construction  like  longitudo  dierum).  Supervacue= gratis.  Cf.  xxiv.  4. 

8.  Transi tion  to  singular  from  plural  is  common  in  Hebrew. 
Quem  ignorat,  *  unexpectedly/  The  Hebrew  suggests  the  idea  of 
falling  into  a  pit  which  oneself  has  made. 

10.  The  ossa  are  the  whole  self.  The  poet  is  inops,  egenus,  and 
pauper. 

11.  Is  there  a  reference  to  false  testimony  in  a  trial,  or  to  slander- 
ing  in  general  ?  The  interrogation  suggests  legal  procedure.  The 
beginning  of  the  psalm  refers  also  to  judicial  procedure. 

12.  Sterilitatem,  Hebrew  :  ‘  childlessness  *  ;  the  idea  is  that  his 
enemies  have  made  the  poet  feel  the  extremity  of  utter  loneliness 
and  desolation.  This  was  their  requital  for  his  ldndness  which  he 
goes  on  to  describe. 

13.  It  is  better  to  omit  the  mihi  ;  the  reference,  as  the  context 
shows,  is  to  former  griefs  of  his  foes.  He  shared  in  those  griefs,  wore 
the  symbols  of  mourning,  and  prayed  for  his  foes  with  such  earnest- 
ness  and  humility  that,  as  he  knelt,  his  head  bent  downward  so  that 
his  prayers  were  murmured,  as  it  were,  into  his  own  breast.  Cf. 
III  Kings  xviii.  42  ;  Is.  lviii.  5. 

14.  He  grieved  with  them  as  with  a  friend  or  brother.  Complace¬ 
bam,  ‘  was  ready  to  help/  The  Hebrew  is  different  somewhat,  but 
the  Latin  is  ciear  enough. 

15.  Yet,  see  how  good  is  requited  with  evil !  Flagella  ...  et 
ignoravi  is  sometimes  taken  to  mean  ‘  unexpected  scourges  ’  ;  it  is 
better,  probably,  to  translate  as  above. 

16.  Dissipati ;  the  word  would  seem  to  be  suggested  by  the 
*  scourges  ’  :  a  scourge  made  of  many  interwoven  strands  becomes 
loosened  and  tattered  in  use.  The  foes,  like  the  strands  of  the  scourge, 
have  been  separat ed,  but  they  are  as  vindictive  as  before.  They 
feel  no  pity,  but  gather  with  threatening  mockery  round  their  victim, 
showing  their  fangs  like  wild  dogs. 

17.  Repetition  of  the  prayer  of  verse  2jf. 

The  unica  is  the  life.  Cf.  xxi.  21.  The  lions  are  his  foes. 

For  the  ecclesia  magna  cf.  xxi.  23,  26.  Gravis,  ‘  multitudinous/ 

19.  Annuunt  ocidis,  ‘  wink/  a  symbol  of  mockery  and  deceit. 

Oderunt  me  gratis.  Cf.  John  xv.  25. 

20.  Iracundia  terree.  This  is  a  difficult  phrase.  Iracundia  trans- 

lates  ’opyri,  which  may  mean  ‘  impulse/  ‘  inclination/  ‘  character  '  ; 
terra  may  be  metonymous  for  *  men  of  earth/  The  phrase  may  thus 
mean  :  ‘  after  the  character,  or  tendency,  of  earthly  men/  The 

Greek  text  omits  ‘  of  earth/  as  does  the  Psalt.  Rom.  (et  super  iram 
dolose  cogitabant).  Jerome  has  :  non  emin  pacem  loquuntur,  sed  in 
rapina  terree  verba  fraudulenta  concinnant.  The  Hebrew  consonantal 
text  is  also  unsatisfactory.  It  is  usually  translated  :  ‘  They  de  vise 
deceit  against  the  quiet  in  the  land.’  (The  ‘  quiet  in  the  land  ’  would, 


124 


THE  PSALMS 


thus,  be  the  group  to  which  the  psalmist  belongs.)  ‘  Land  ’  seems  to 
be  part  of  the  original  text  :  the  Septuagint  has  been  corrected,  and 
the  Vulgate  adheres  to  the  older  reading.  The  contrast  between 
iracundia  and  ‘  the  quiet  ’  is  due  to  a  difference  of  one  consonant 
between  the  Massoretic  text  and  the  Hebrew  text  read  by  the  Septua¬ 
gint  translators.  Loqui  has  often  the  meaning  think. 

21.  Our  eyes  ha  ve  seen  the  defeat  of  the  pious  one. 

22.  Silere ,  as  in  xxvii.  i. 

23.  Again  the  reference  seems  to  be  to  a  trial.  In  causam  is 
governed  by  intende. 

25.  Dicere  in  corde,  ‘  think.’  Animce  nostrce  goes  with  euge,  ‘  How 
finely  our  wishes  ha  ve  been  fulfilled  !  ’ 


PSALM  XXXV 


THE  BLESSEDNESS  OF  GOD’S  FAVOUR 

THE  psalmist  contrasts  with  the  scheming  of  the  godless  against 
the  just,  the  e  ver  protecting  mercy  and  goodness  of  God. 
However  astute  is  the  planning  of  the  wicked,  it  is  futile 
when  set  against  the  grace  and  mercy  of  God. 

The  psalm  seems  at  hrst  sight,  to  consist  of  two  quite  distinet 
poems — the  hrst  (2-5)  describing  the  doings  of  the  godless,  and  the 
second  (6-10),  hymning  the  praise  of  GocTs  graciousness,  which  are 
held  together  artihcially  by  a  redactional  passage  (11-13).  But  the 
psalm  is  really  a  unit  composition,  the  distinetness  of  whose  sections 
is  due  to  the  vigour  of  the  contrast  drawn  between  the  godless  and 
the  pious.  The  poem  is  not  a  dirge  dealing  with  the  sufferings  of 
the  just,  but  a  song  of  triumph  and  of  thanksgiving  inspired  by  the 
sense  of  GocTs  presence  and  protection. 

Occasion  and  date  are  here  also  unknown. 


1 .  In  finem,  servo  Domini  ipsi 
David. 


1.  For  the  choir-master.  By  the  servant  of 
the  Lord,  David  himself. 


2.  The  godless  determines  to  sin  ; 

There  is  no  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes. 


2.  Dixit  injustus  ut  delinquat 
in  semetipso :  non  est  timor 
Dei  ante  oculos  ejus. 

3.  Quoniam  dolose  egit  in  3. 
conspectu  ejus :  ut  inveniatur 
iniquitas  ejus  ad  odium. 

4.  Verba  oris  ejus  iniquitas,  4. 

et  dolus  :  noluit  intelligere  ut 
bene  ageret. 

5.  Iniquitatem  meditatus  est  5. 

in  cubili  suo  :  astitit  omni  viae 
non  bonae,  malitiam  autem  non 
odivit. 

6.  Domine  in  coelo  miseri¬ 
cordia  tua  :  et  veritas  tua  usque 
ad  nubes. 

7.  Justitia  tua  sicut  montes 
Dei  :  judicia  tua  abyssus  multa. 

Homines,  et  jumenta  salvabis 
Domine  : 

8.  Quemadmodum  multipli¬ 
casti  misericordiam  tuam  Deus. 

Filii  autem  hominum,  in  teg¬ 
mine  alarum  tuarum  sperabunt. 


For  he  acteth  before  Him  with  guile, 

So  that  his  godlessness  rises  even  to 
hatred. 

The  words  of  his  mouth  are  sin  and  deceit. 
He  will  not  understand  the  need  of  act- 
ing  uprightly. 

He  deviseth  sin  upon  his  couch  : 

He  walketh  only  on  evil  paths  : 

He  hateth  not  evil. 


6.  O  Lord,  in  heaven  is  Thy  graciousness  ; 

And  Thy  faithfulness  is  even  unto  the 
clouds  ! 

3.  Thy  justice  is  as  the  mountains  of  God  ; 

Thy  judgments  are  as  a  mighty  sea. 

Men  and  beasts  Thou  dost  protect, 
O  Lord  ! 

8.  What  endless  graciousness  dost  Thou  dis- 
play,  O  God  ! 

The  children  of  men  put  their  trust  in 
the  protecting  shelter  of  Thy  wings. 


125 


12  6 


THE  PSALMS 


9.  Inebriabuntur  ab  ubertate  9. 
domus  tuae  :  et  torrente  vo¬ 
luptatis  tuae  potabis  eos. 

10.  Quoniam  apud  te  est  fons  10. 
vitae  :  et  in  lumine  tuo  videbi¬ 
mus  lumen. 


They  are  sated  by  the  abundance  of  Thy 
House  ; 

And  Thou  makest  them  to  drink  of  the 
stream  of  Thy  delights. 

For  with  Thee  is  the  fountain  of  life  ; 
And  in  Thy  light  we  see  light ! 


11.  Praetende  misericordiam  11. 

tuam  scientibus  te,  et  justitiam 
tuam  his,  qui  recto  sunt  corde. 

12.  Non  veniat  mihi  pes  su-  12. 

perbiae :  et  manus  peccatoris 

non  moveat  me. 

13.  Ibi  ceciderunt  qui  ope-  13. 

rantur  iniquitatem  :  expulsi 

sunt,  nec  potuerunt  stare. 


Maintain  Thy  favour  unto  them  that 
know  Thee 

And  Thy  justice  to  those  who  are 
upright  of  heart  ! 

Let  no  proud  foot  tread  on  me. 

Nor  any  hand  of  sinner  disturb  me  ! 

Then  do  they  fall  who  work  mischief  ; 

They  are  driven  out  and  can  no  more 
stand  forth. 


2.  Dixit  goes  with  in  semetipso ;  it  means  ‘  think/  '  decide/ 

*  plan/ 

Ut  delinquat  is  the  conduct  planned  (cf.  Ps.  xiii.  1,  Dixit  insipiens 
in  corde  suo  :  non  est  Deus). 

3.  This  is  an  obscure  verse.  The  translation  above  is  possible, 
but  it  is  far-fetched.  The  Greek  text  could  conceivably  mean  : 

‘  He  hath  deceived  himself  in  regard  to  the  finding  of  his  sin,  and 
the  hating  of  it/  i. e.  he  has  deceived  himself  into  forgetting  how 
God  seeks  out  and  punishes  sin.  This  would  be  much  the  same 
thought  as  in  verse  2  and  in  Ps.  xiii.  1. 

4.  Noluit,  etc.  The  Greek  is  here  clearer,  '  he  would  not  have 
understanding  in  regard  to  the  doing  of  good/  Jerome  has,  cessavit 
cogitare  bene  facere. 

5.  Astitit  ;  cf.  ii.  2,  astiterunt  reges,  ‘  to  stand  forth  ’  ;  here,  *  to 
advance  forth  ’  (Jerome  has  stabit). 

6.  Here  begins  the  praise  of  God's  goodness.  In  ccelo  might  be 
taken  as  equivalent  to  ad  ccdum. 

7.  ‘  Mountains  of  God  '  are  mighty  mountains.  Cf.  ‘  Cedars  of 
God/  Ps.  lxxix.  11  ;  *  prince  of  God  ’  (mighty  prince),  Gen.  xxiii.  6. 

A&yssws  multa  is  the  abyss  of  Gen.  i  on  which  the  earth  fioats, 
the  great  nether  ocean.  The  reference  to  man  and  beast  may,  in 
this  context,  contain  an  allusion  to  the  Ark  of  Noah.  More  likely 
the  phrase  ‘  man  and  beast  '  is  meant  to  designate  all  that  exists 
between  heaven  and  earth. 

8.  Quemadmodum=quam  !  The  Hebrew  here  has  :  ‘  How  precious, 
O  Lord,  is  Thy  goodness  !  '  The  autem  implies  that  a  special  proof  of 
God’s  goodness  lies  in  the  fact  that  men  feel  themselves  absolutely 
secure  (sperabunt)  in  the  shelter  of  God’s  wings.  For  the  image 
cf.  Exod.  xix.  4. 

9.  God  is  thought  of  here  as  the  giver  of  a  banquet.  The  pious 
are  His  guests. 


THE  BLESSEDNESS  OF  GOD’S  FAVOUR  127 


Torrens  voluptatis=volufitas  abandans  ;  but  there  as  here  the  idea 
of  water  as  a  precious  gift.  For  life-giving  waters  associated  with 
the  sanctuary,  or  with  Jerusalem,  cf.  Ezech.  xlvii.  5/;  Zach.  xiv.  8. 
Cf.  Is.  xxxiii.  21. 

10.  Cf.  John  iv.  13/. 

In  lumine  tuo,  ‘  with  Thy  help  ’  ;  videbimus  lumen,  ‘  we  attain 
happiness  and  success/  Cf.  iv.  7.  Light  is  for  the  Hebrew  a  symbol 
of  prosperity  and  good  luck.  A  mystical  view  is  to  take  the  phrase 
as  meaning  :  ‘  In  Thee  (the  Son),  we  behold  the  Father/  A  Trini- 
tarian  sense  has  often  been  given  to  this  verse,  by  identifying  the 
Son  with  the  fountain  of  life,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  with  the  ‘  Light/ 

*  Enlightened  by  the  One  Light  of  God  (=the  Spirit)  we  know  the 
other  Light  of  God  (=the  Son)/  The  verse  played  a  rather  important 
part  in  the  Council  of  Florence,  in  connection  with  the  question  of 
the  Procession  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  the  obvious  sense  is  :  *  By 
Thy  favour  we  attain  prosperity/  This  was  the  most  familiar 
philosophy  of  Israel. 

11.  Prcztende,  maintain,  continue.  Possibly  the  word  suggests 
the  holding  forth  of  God's  goodness  and  justice  as  a  defensi  ve  shield. 

12.  We  ha  ve  here  a  reference  to  the  ancient  custom  according  to 
which  the  victor  set  his  foot  on  the  vanquished. 

13.  Ibi  may  be  temporal ;  or  it  may  imply  that,  even  while  the- 
psalmist  sings,  he  beholds  the  discomfiture  of  his  foes. 


PSALM  XXXVI 


HOW  FLEETING  THE  LUCK  OF  THE 

GODLESS 


THIS  psalm  is  alphabetical  and,  like  the  other  alphabetical 
psalms,  somewhat  loosely  constructed.  Its  general  theme, 
like  that  of  Ps.  i.  xlviii  and  lxxii,  is  the  method  of  divine  re- 
tribution.  The  poet  does  not  go  deeply  into  the  problem  of 
Providence  ;  for  him  the  prosperity  of  the  godless  is  only  apparent ; 
the  good,  in  fact,  always  prosper ;  the  wicked,  in  truth,  always 
suffer.  If  the  wicked  do  seem,  at  times,  to  prosper,  it  is  only  for  a 
moment,  and  without  security.  Their  prosperity  is,  therefore,  a 
delusion.  Hence  the  pious  must  not  be  misled  by  it  to  emulate  the 
*  wickedness  of  the  godless,  or  to  be  impatient  at  their  apparent  success. 
In  the  end  the  pious  will  ha  ve  all  blessings  ;  the  wicked,  with  their 
children,  will  be  swept  away  and  the  God-fearing  shall  find  them- 
selves  in  undisturbed  and  abiding  possession  of  the  Jand  of  Israel. 
The  psalmists  philosophy  of  life  is  thus  the  naive  optimism  which 
is  so  bitterly  rejected  by  Job  when  his  three  friends  put  it  forward  as 
a  solution  of  the  riddle  of  Jobs  condition  (Job  i v/.).  The  psalm  con- 
tains  many  echoes  of  Job,  Proverbs,  and  of  other  Psalms.  The 
psalmist,  like  the  writers  of  the  Sapiential  books,  takes  the  attitude 
of  a  father  or  a  teacher  giving  counsel  to  a  son  or  disciple.  Hence, 
as  in  Proverbs,  the  frequent  use  of  the  second  person  singular  in  the 
address. 

This  poem  also  is  regarded  by  modern  criticism  as  post-exilic — 
by  some  critics  even  as  Maccabean. 


1.  Psalmus  ipsi  David.  i. 

Noli  aemulari  in  malignanti¬ 
bus  :  neque  zelaveris  facientes 
iniquitatem. 

2.  Quoniam  tamquam  f oenum  2. 

velociter  arescent :  et  quemad¬ 
modum  olera  herbarum  cito 
decident. 

3.  Spera  in  Domino,  et  fac  3. 
bonitatem  :  et  inhabita  terram, 

et  pasceris  in  divitiis  ejus. 

4.  Delectare  in  Domino  :  et  4. 
■dabit  tibi  petitiones  cordis  tui. 


A  psalm  by  David  himself. 


Vie  not  with  evildoers  ; 

And  imitate  not  sinners  ! 

For  swiftly,  like  grass,  do  they  dry  up  ; 
And  speedily,  like  green  herbs,  do  they 
wither. 


Put  thy  trust  in  the  Lord,  and  do  good  ! 
Then  shalt  thou  dwell  in  the  land,  and 
feast  thyself  on  its  abundance. 

Seek  thy  pleasure  in  the  Lord, 

And  He  will  give  thee  all  that  thy 
heart  doth  long  for. 


128 


HOW  FLEETING  THE  LUCK  OF  THE  GODLESS  !  129 


5.  Revela  Domino  vita  tuam, 
et  spera  in  eo  :  et  ipse  faciet. 

6.  Et  educet  quasi  lumen  ju¬ 
stitiam  tuam  :  et  judicium  tuum 
tamquam  meridiem  : 

7.  Subditus  esto  Domino,  et 
ora  eum. 

Noli  aemulari  in  eo,  qui  pro¬ 
speratur  in  via  sua  :  in  homine 
faciente  injustitias. 

8.  Desine  ab  ira,  et  derelin¬ 
que  furorem  :  noli  aemulari  ut 
maligneris. 

9.  Quoniam  qui  malignantur, 

exterminabuntur :  sustinentes 

autem  Dominum,  ipsi  haeredita- 
bunt  terram. 

10.  Et  adhuc  pusillum,  et  non 
erit  peccator  :  et  quaeres  locum 
ejus,  et  non  invenies. 

1 1 .  Mansueti  autem  haeredita- 
bunt  terram  :  et  delectabuntur 
in  multitudine  pacis. 


5.  Entrust  thy  way  to  the  Lord, 

And  trust  in  Him,  and  He  will  bring 
it  to  pass. 

6.  He  will  show  forth  thy  righteousness  as  a 

light, 

And  thy  cause  like  the  noonday. 

7.  Be  subject  to  the  Lord  and  offer  petition 

unto  Him. 

Be  not  envious  of  him  who  hath  good 
fortune  on  his  way — 

Of  the  man  who  acteth  unjustly  ! 

8.  Cease  from  anger,  and  give  up  wrath  ; 

Be  not  envious  of  evil-doing. 

9.  For  they  who  do  evil  will  be  cut  off  ; 

But  they  who  put  their  trust  in  the 
Lord  will  possess  the  land. 

10.  In  a  little  while  the  sinner  shall  be  no 

more  ; 

Thou  wilt  seek  his  place,  and  shalt  not 
find  him. 

11.  But  the  lowly  shall  possess  the  land. 

And  shall  delight  in  the  fulness  of 
peace. 


12.  Observabit  peccator  ju¬ 
stum  :  et  stridebit  super  eum 
dentibus  suis. 

13.  Dominus  autem  irridebit 
eum  :  quoniam  prospicit  quod 
veniet  dies  ejus. 

14.  Gladium  *  evaginaverunt 
peccatores  :  intenderunt  arcum 
suum, 

Ut  dejiciant  pauperem  et  ino¬ 
pem  :  ut  trucident  rectos  corde. 

15.  Gladius  eorum  intret  in 
corda  ipsorum  :  et  arcus  eorum 
confringatur. 


12.  The  sinner  watcheth  for  the  just, 

And  gnasheth  his  teeth  against  him ; 

13.  But  God  laugheth  him  to  scorn, 

For  He  seeth  that  his  day  is  near. 

14.  Sinners  draw  the  sword, 

And  stretch  their  bow  to  dash  headlong 
the  needy  and  helpless, 

To  slay  the  honest  of  heart. 

15.  May  their  sword  pierce  through  to  their 

own  heart ! 

And  may  their  bow  be  brolcen. 


16.  Melius  est  modicum  justo, 
super  divitias  peccatorum  mul¬ 
tas. 

17.  Quoniam  brachia  pecca¬ 
torum  conterentur :  confirmat 
autem  justos  Dominus. 

18.  Novit  Dominus  dies  im¬ 
maculatorum  :  et  hasreditas 

eorum  in  aeternum  erit. 

19.  Non  confundentur  in  tem¬ 
pore  malo,  et  in  diebus  famis 
saturabuntur  : 

20.  Quia  peccatores  peribunt. 

Inimici  vero  Domini  mox  ut 

honorificati  fuerint  et  exaltati  : 
dejficientes,  quemadffiodum  fu¬ 
mus  deficient. 


16.  Better  is  the  scanty  sto  re  of  the 

righteous, 

Than  the  great  wealth  of  sinners. 

17.  For  the  arms  of  sinners  shall  be  broken  ; 

But  the  Lord  maintaineth  the  righteous. 

18.  The  Lord  knoweth  the  days  of  the 

righteous  ; 

And  their  inheritance  abideth  for  ever. 

19.  They  shall  not  be  disgraced  in  the  day  of 

trouble  ; 

And  in  the  time  of  famine  they  will  be 
sated  : 

20.  But  sinners  shall  be  cut  off. 

Yea  !  the  enemies  of  the  Lord  are  no 
sooner  honoured  and  exalted, 

Than  they  vanish  utterly,  like  smolce. 


9 


130 


THE  PSALMS 


21.  Mutuabitur  peccator,  et 
non  solvet :  justus  autem  mise¬ 
retur  et  tribuet. 

22.  Quia  benedicentes  ei  hae- 

reditabunt  terram  :  maledi¬ 

centes  autem  ei  disperibunt. 

23.  Apud  Dominum  gressus 
hominis  dirigentur :  et  viam 
ejus  volet. 

24.  Cum  ceciderit,  non  colli¬ 
detur  :  quia  Dominus  supponit 
manum  suam. 

25.  Junior  fui,  etenim  senui  : 
et  non  vidi  justum  derelictum, 
nec  semen  ejus  quaerens  panem. 

26.  Tota  die  miseretur  et  com¬ 
modat  :  et  semen  illius  in  bene¬ 
dictione  erit. 

27.  Declina  a  malo,  et  fac 
bonum  :  et  inhabita  in  saeculum 
saeculi. 

28.  Quia  Dominus  amat  judi¬ 
cium,  et  non  derelinquet  sanctos 
suos  :  in  aeternum  conservabun¬ 
tur. 

Injusti  punientur  :  et  semen 
impiorum  peribit. 

29.  Justi  autem  haereditabunt 
terram  :  et  inhabitabunt  in  sae¬ 
culum  saeculi  super  eam. 

30.  Os  justi  meditabitur  sa¬ 
pientiam,  et  lingua  ejus  loquetur 
judicium. 

31.  Lex  Dei  ejus  in  corde 
ipsius  :  et  non  supplantabuntur 
gressus  ejus. 

32.  Considerat  peccator  ju¬ 
stum  :  et  quaerit  mortificare 
eum. 

33.  Dominus  autem  non  de¬ 
relinquet  eum  in  manibus  ejus  : 
nec  damnabit  eum,  cum  judica¬ 
bitur  illi. 

34.  Exspecta  Dominum,  et 
custodi  viam  ejus  :  et  exaltabit 
te  ut  haereditate  capias  terram  : 
cum  perierint  peccatores  videbis. 

35.  Vidi  impium  superexalta¬ 
tum,  et  elevatum  sicut  cedros 
Libani. 

36.  Et  transivi,  et  ecce  non 
erat :  et  quaesivi  eum,  et  non 
est  inventus  locus  ejus. 

37.  Custodi  innocentiam,  et 
vide  aequitatem  :  quoniam  sunt 
reliquiae  homini  pacifico. 

38.  Injusti  autem  disperibunt 
simul :  reliquiae  impiorum  in¬ 
teribunt. 


21.  The  sinner  borroweth,  and  payeth  not 

back  : 

But  the  just  doth  pity,  and  freely 
giveth. 

22.  They  who  praise  Him  (God)  shall  possess 

the  land, 

But  they  who  revile  Him  shall  be  cut  off . 

23 .  By  the  Lord  the  steps  of  a  man  are  guided; 

And  the  way  of  such  a  one  He  doth  de- 
light  in. 

24.  When  he  falleth  he  shall  not  come  to  hurt, 

For  the  Lord  holdeth  under  him  His 
hand. 

25.  I  was  young,  and  now  I  am  grown  old  ; 

Yet  ne  ver  have  I  seen  the  just  man 
abandoned, 

Nor  his  children  begging  for  bread. 

26.  He  is  at  all  times  merciful,  and  lendeth. 

And  yet,  his  posteri ty  is  blessed. 

27.  Turn  away  from  evil  and  do  good. 

And  thou  shalt  dwell  in  the  land  for 
ever  ! 

28.  For  the  Lord  loveth  justi  ce  ; 

And  forsaketh  not  His  worshippers. 
They  shall  be  maintained  for  ever. 

The  wicked  shall  be  punished  ; 

And  the  posterity  of  the  godless  shall 
be  cut  off. 

29.  But  the  just  shall  possess  the  land, 

And  dwell  therein  for  ever. 

30.  The  mouth  of  the  pious  praiseth  wisdom  ; 

And  his  tongue  talketh  of  justi  ce. 

31.  The  Law  of  God  is  in  his  heart ; 

And  his  steps  are  never  unsteadv. 


32.  The  sinner  lieth  in  wait  for  the  just, 

And  seeketh  to  slay  him. 

33.  But  the  Lord  leaveth  him  not  in  his  hands» 

And  condemneth  him  not  when  he  is 
tried. 

34.  Wait  on  the  Lord  and  keep  His  path, 

And  He  will  exalt  thee  so  that  thou 
shalt  inherit  the  land. 

When  sinners  are  cut  off,  thine  eyes 
shall  feast  thereon. 

35.  I  saw  a  godless  man  greatly  exalted, 

Set  high,  like  the  cedars  of  Lebanon  : 

36.  And  I  passed  on,  and  lo  !  he  was  no  more; 

And  I  sought  it  [his  place],  but  no 
longer  could  his  place  be  found. 

37.  Hold  fast  to  innocence,  and  give  heed  to 

uprightness  ! 

For  to  the  man  of  peace  belongeth 
posterity. 

38.  But  the  impious — all  of  them  are  cut  off. 

And  the  posterity  of  the  wicked  shall 
vanish  ! 


HOW  FLEETING  THE  LUCK  OF  THE  GODLESS  1131 


39.  Salus  autem  justorum  a  39. 
Domino  :  et  protector  eorum  in 
tempore  tribulationis. 

40.  Et  adjuvabit  eos  Dominus  40. 
et  liberabit  eos  :  et  eruet  eos  a 
peccatoribus,  et  salvabit  eos  : 
quia  speraverunt  in  eo. 


But  the  help  of  the  righteous  is  from  the 
Lord  ; 

And  He  is  their  protector  in  time  of 
trouble. 

And  the  Lord  doth  help  them,  and  rescue 
them, 

And  delivereth  them  from  sinners,  and 
protecteth  them,  because  they  put 
their  trust  in  Him. 


1.  The  pious  is  not  to  permit  himself  to  imitate  the  methods  of 
the  sinner  because  of  the  latters  apparent  success.  Cf.  Prov.  xxiv.  19. 

2.  Cf.  for  similar  comparison,  Ps.  xci.  8  ;  ci.  12  ;  cii.  15  ;  cxxviii.  6. 

3  The  reward  of  goodness  is  to  be  material. 

4.  Cf.  Job  xxvii.  10. 

5,  6.  Revela  ;  in  Hebrew  :  '  commit  thy  way  to  the  Lord/  i.e. 
entrust  your  case  to  Him.  Life  is  a  sort  of  trial  in  which  the  good 
are  matched  against  the  wicked.  God,  in  His  own  interest,  will 
secure  a  favourable  verdict  for  the  pious,  which  will  be  as  clearly 
seen  as  is  the  sun  at  noonday.  Cf.  Is.  lviii.  10  and  Job  xvii. 

7.  Same  thought  as  in  verse  1. 

8.  The  anger  and  wrath  would  arise  from  the  apparent  unfairness 
of  Providence.  There  must  be  no  emulation  of  the  sinful  ways  of 
the  godless. 

10.  Note  the  frequent  repetition  of  the  thought  that  the  wicked 
will  altogether  disappear.  Cf.  Job  viii.  18  ;  Yet,  when  from  his  place 
he  is  destroyed,  It  denies  him.  “  I  ne  ver  beheld  thee.”  See 
verse  36  of  this  psalm. 

11.  The  “  abundant  peace  ”  will  come  when  the  wicked  ha  ve 
vanished.  Cf.  Matt.  v.  4. 

12-15.  This  description  of  the  methods  of  the  godless  reminds 
one  of  many  other  psalm-passages.  Cf.  vii.  1  $ff.  ;  ix.  30 ff.  ;  xxxiv.  8. 
The  psalmisfs  theory  is  :  The  impious  brings  about  by  his  scheming 
his  own  destruction  ;  the  pious  attains  to  happiness  by  his  honesty. 
Exceptions  to  this  rule  are  either  imaginary,  or  ephemeral. 

13.  The  day  is  that  of  the  sinner ’s  fall. 

16.  Super  expresses  comparison. 

18.  The  immaculati  are  the  perfect,  the  righteous.  Their  “  day  ” 
is  their  lot,  fate.  The  Psalt.  Rom.  has  vias,  which  gives  ultimately, 
the  same  sense.  God's  knowledge  implies  His  interest,  and  loving 
care.  Cf.  Ps.  i.  6  ;  Gals.  iv.  9. 

20.  The  exaltation  and  humiliation  of  the  impious  take  place 
in  the  same  moment.  This  is  a  strong  way  of  asserting  the  fleeting- 
ness  and  insecurity  of  honour  based  on  sin.  Cf.  with  this  the  wonderful 
description  of  the  nothingness  of  the  sinner’s  life  in  the  Book  of 
Wisdom,  ch.  v.  8-14,  especially  v.  14.  "  The  hope  of  the  ungodly 

is  as  chaff  carried  by  the  wind,  and  as  foam  vanishing  before  a  tempest* 


l32 


THE  PSALMS 


and  is  scattered  as  is  smoke  by  the  wind,  and  passeth  by  as  the  re- 
membrance  of  a  one-day  guest.”  C/.  also  Job  iv.  8,  9  :  “  I  ha  ve 
always  seen  plowers  of  sin  and  sowers  of  sorrow  to  reap  it.  By  the 
breath  of  God  they  perish,  and  end  in  the  blast  of  His  anger.” 

21.  The  wealthy  sinner  has  not  enough  in  ali  his  wealth  ;  he  has 
to  borrow  and  cannot  pay  back.  The  pious,  in  all  his  poverty,  has 
wherewithal  to  lend. 

23.  The  pious  man,  of  course,  is  here  referred  to.  Apud — by. 

25.  This  is  the  psalmist  s  proof,  based  on  his  own  experience,  of 
his  optimistic  theories.  Cf.  the  words  of  Eliphaz  in  Job  iv.  7/. 

26.  In  benedictione,  ‘  unto  a  blessing/  i.e.  will  be  blessed  by  others 
to  whom  they  bring  pro  fit,  and  vvho  will  ask  of  God  to  be  favoured 
hke  them. 

30.  The  wisdom  here  is  the  wisdom  of  God  which  shows  itself  in 
the  government  of  the  world.  Meditari,  to  speak,  or,  to  murmur 
over  to  oneself.  The  judicium  is  the  Law  of  God,  or  perhaps,  Gods 
wisdom  as  shown  in  particular  cases — Gods  verdict,  as  it  were. 

31.  With  the  Law  in  his  heart  a  man  cannot  miss  the  true  way. 

32.  Considerare,  to  watch  for  with  hostile  intent. 

33.  The  sense  is  that  God  will  not  abandon  the  just  to  the  power 
of  the  godless.  Even  when  the  latter  bring  the  just  man  to  trial, 
and  pronounce  sentence  against  him,  God  will  not  agree  with  their 
verdict. 

3 1.  Videbis,  ‘  you  will  have  your  pleasure  in/  ‘  feast  your  eyes  on/ 

35-36.  The  psalmist  here  again  appeals  to  his  own  experience. 

The  cedars  of  Lebanon  symbolise  all  that  is  great,  imposing,  and 
secure. 

37.  Reliquice — the  translation,  “  posterity  ”  is  supported  by  the 
first  part  of  the  verse,  and  by  the  sen timent  of  the  following  verse. 

The  wicked  shall  be  cut  off,  so  as  to  leave  no  memory  behind  ;  but 
God  will  maintain  His  loyal  servants  in  being,  and  will  give  them 
security  and  success.  Though  this,  the  usual  Israelite  theory  of  life, 
is  strongly  criticised  in  the  Book  of  Job,  the  Epilogue  of  that  book 
agrees  in  outlook  with  the  conclucling  verses  of  this  psalm. 

9 

1 

•  nni 


PSALM  XXXVII 


A  PENITENTIAL  PRAYER  OF  ONE  SMITTEN 

BY  SICKNESS 


THE  singer  is  sorely  smitten  with  sickness  and  thinks  himself 
not  far  from  death  :  he  is  in  conflict  with  godless  enemies, 
and  pleads  for  help.  He  pleads  less  for  health  than  for 
justification  against  his  enemies.  Were  he  to  die,  this 
wonld  be  a  victory  for  his  foes,  and  an  indication  of  a  guilt  of  which 
he  is  not  conscious.  As  against  men,  he  claims  to  be  guiltless  :  to- 
wards  God  he  admits  his  sin.  In  his  sickness  he  sees  the  due  reward 
of  his  offences  against  God,  and  he  accepts  with  resignation  the 
punishment.  He  does  not  ask  for  pardon  of  his  sins,  except  in  so  far 
as  his  prayer  for  help  implies  a  petition  for  remission  of  his  sins  ; 
neither  does  he  pray  directly  for  a  renewal  or  purification  of  spirit, 
nor  for  preservation  from  further  sin.  He  puts  ali  the  stress  on  the 
prayer  for  justification  as  against  his  enemies.  The  whole  tone  of 
the  psalm  is  strikingly  like  that  of  Ps.  lxxxvii.  C/.  also  Ps.  vi. 

This  psalm  is  the  third  of  the  so-called  penitential  psalms.  It 
seems  clearly  to  describe  the  condition  of  a  man  who  is  suffering  from 
grievous  bodily  illness,  of  a  man  whose  body  is  full  of  foul  and  evil- 
smelling  festering  sores,  of  a  man  whose  nearest  and  dearest  desert 
him  through  fear  of  infection.  He  is  like  a  leper  outcast.  In  all  his 
sickness  his  foes  relentlessly  seek  his  ruin.  The  psalm  is  assigned  to 
David,  yet  we  cannot  find  the  situation  which  it  describes  in  the 
history  of  David  s  life.  The  theory  of  this  psalm  is,  again,  that 
sickness  and  sorrow  are  a  resuit  of  sin.  This  was  not  a  Hebrew  idea, 
merely.  It  appears  everywhere  in  the  literature  of  the  Semites,  and 
especially  in  Babylo nian  literature. 


i.  Psalmus  David,  in  re-  i. 
memorationem  de  Sabbato. 


2.  Domine  ne  in  furore  tuo  2. 
arguas  me,  neque  in  ira  tua 
corripias  me. 

3.  Quoniam  sagittae  tuae  in-  3. 
lixae  sunt  mihi  :  et  confirmasti 
super  me  manum  tuam. 

4.  Non  est  sanitas  in  carne  4. 
mea  a  facie  irae  tuae  :  non  est 

pax  ossibus  meis  a  facie  pecca¬ 
torum  meorum. 


A  psalm  of  David.  For  a  memorial. 
On  the  Sabbath. 


O  Lord,  in  Thy  wrath  punish  me  not  ! 

And  in  Thy  anger  chastise  me  not  ! 

For  Thy  arrows  have  fixed  themselves  in 
me  ; 

And  heavily  hast  Thou  laid  Thy  hand 
on  me. 

There  is  no  health  in  my  body  because 
of  Thy  anger  ; 

And  there  is  no  peace  in  my  bones  be¬ 
cause  of  my  sins. 


133 


134 


THE  PSALMS 


5.  Quoniam  iniquitates  meas  5. 
supergressae  sunt  caput  meum  : 
et  sicut  onus  grave  gravatae  sunt 
super  me. 


For  my  misdeeds  reach  even  above  my 
head  ; 

And  like  a  heavy  load  they  weigh  me 
down. 


6.  Putruerunt  et  corruptae 
sunt  cicatrices  meae,  a  facie  in¬ 
sipientiae  meae. 

7.  Miser  factus  sum,  et  curva¬ 
tus  sum  usque  in  finem  :  tota 
die  contristatus  ingrediebar. 

8.  Quoniam  lumbi  mei  impleti 
sunt  illusionibus  :  et  non  est 
sanitas  in  carne  mea. 

9.  Afflictus  sum,  et  humiliatus 
sum  nimis  :  rugiebam  a  gemitu 
cordis  mei. 

10.  Domine,  ante  te  omne 
desiderium  meum  :  et  gemitus 
meus  a  te  non  est  absconditus. 

11.  Cor  meum  conturbatum 
est,  dereliquit  me  virtus  mea  : 
et  lumen  oculorum  meorum,  et 
ipsum  non  est  mecum. 

12.  Amici  mei,  et  proximi  mei 
adversum  me  appropinquave¬ 
runt,  et  steterunt. 

Et  qui  juxta  me  erant,  de 
longe  steterunt : 

13.  Et  vim  faciebant  qui 
quaerebant  animam  meam. 

Et  qui  inquirebant  mala  mihi, 
locuti  sunt  vanitates  :  et  dolos 
tota  die  meditabantur. 

14.  Ego  autem  tamquam  sur¬ 
dus  non  audiebam  :  et  sicut 
mutus  non  aperiens  os  suum. 

15.  Et  factus  sum  sicut  homo 
non  audiens  :  et  non  habens  in 
ore  suo  redargutiones. 

16.  Quoniam  in  te  Domine 
speravi  :  tu  exaudies  me  Do¬ 
mine  Deus  meus. 

17.  Quia  dixi  :  Nequando  su¬ 
pergaudeant  mihi  inimici  mei  : 
et  dum  commoventur  pedes  mei, 
super  me  magna  locuti  sunt. 


6.  My  wounds  are  festering  and  decaying, 

Because  of  my  folly. 

7.  I  am  wretched  and  completely  cast  down  ; 

All  day  I  go  about  dejected. 

8.  For  my  loins  are  become  a  mockery  ; 

And  health  there  is  none  in  my  flesh. 

9.  I  am  afflicted  and  humbled  indeed  ; 

I  groan  in  the  misery  of  my  heart. 

10.  O  Lord,  before  Thee  is  all  my  longing  ! 

And  my  sighing  is  not  hidden  from 
Thee  ! 

1 1 .  My  heart  is  dismayed  ;  my  strength  has 

abandoned  me  ; 

And  the  light  of  my  eyes — even  it  is  no 
longer  with  me. 

12.  My  dear  ones  and  comrades  approach  till 

they  are  over  against  me,  and  then 
stand  stili, 

And  my  neighbours  stand  afar  off. 

13.  But  they  who  seek  my  life  put  forth  a 

great  effort  ; 

And  they  who  seek  to  injure  me 
speak  wantonly, 

And  scheme  treachery  all  day  long. 

14.  But  I,  like  a  deaf  man,  hear  not, 

And  am  like  one  dumb  that  openeth 
not  his  mouth. 

15.  I  have  become  like  a  man  that  heareth  not, 

That  hath  no  rejoinder  in  his  mouth. 

16.  For  in  Thee  I  hope,  O  Lord  ; 

Thou  hearest  me,  my  God  ! 

17.  Because  I  say  :  Let  not  my  foes  rejoice 

over  me — 

They  who  spoke  arrogantly  against  me 
when  my  feet  were  tottering  ! 


18.  Quoniam  ego  in  flagella 
paratus  sum  :  et  dolor  meus  in 
conspectu  meo  semper. 

19.  Quoniam  iniquitatem  me¬ 
am  annuntiabo  :  et  cogitabo 
pro  peccato  meo. 

20.  Inimici  autem  mei  vivunt, 
et  confirmati  sunt  super  me  : 
et  multiplicati  sunt  qui  oderunt 
me  inique. 

21.  Qui  retribuunt  mala  pro 
bonis,  detrahebant  mihi  :  quo¬ 
niam  sequebar  bonitatem. 


18.  For  I  am  given  over  to  the  scourges  ; 

And  my  pain  is  e  ver  before  me. 

19.  My  misdeeds  I  proclaim  ; 

And  am  uneasy  about  my  sins. 

20.  But  my  enemies  go  on  living,  and  are 

stronger  than  I  ; 

And  many  are  they  who  hate  me 
unjustly. 

21.  They  who  return  evil  for  good 

Are  hostile  to  me,  because  I  seek  after 
the  good. 


A  PENITENTIAL  PRAYER 


135 


22.  Ne  derelinquas  me  Do-  22. 
mine  Deus  meus  :  ne  discesseris 

a  me. 

23.  Intende  in  adjutorium  23. 
meum,  Domine  Deus  salutis 
meae. 


Abandon  me  not,  O  Lord  ! 

My  God,  depart  not  from  me  ! 

Make  haste  to  help  me,  O  Lord,  my 
rescuing  God  ! 


1.  In  rememorationem — for  a  rememb rance,  i. e.  to  remind  the 
Lord  of  something.  De  Sabbato  is  not  in  Hebrew.  We  know,  how- 
ever,  that  even  at  a  very  early  period,  selected  psalms  were  assigned 
to  the  different  days  of  the  week.  The  rememoratio  (in  Hebrew 
'Azkara),  is  sometimes  explained  as — the  liturgi cal  'Azkara,  i. e.  the 
portion  of  the  food-offering  ( minhah )  which  was  cast  into  the  sacri- 
ficial  flame  to  remind  God  of  the  offerer.  The  psalm  would  in  this 
view,  be  assigned  to  the  particular  moment  of  the  liturgy  at  which 
that  offering  was  made.  C/.  Ps.  lxix.  1. 

2.  He  prays  the  Lord  to  punish  no  further,  because  he  thinks 
himself  already  sufficiently  chastised.  Note  resemblance  with  Ps.  vi. 

3.  The  arrows  are  the  pains  of  his  disease.  C/.  Job  vi.  4  ;  xvi.  13. 
The  Hebrew  suggests  the  thought  of  a  flight  of  arrows  falling  around 
him. 

4.  The  first  chapter  of  Isaias  describes  the  fatal  diseases  of  Israel 
in  similar  language.  Pax  corresponds  to  the  Hebrew  shalom,  which 
implies  perfection  or  integrity. 

5.  The  pains  reach  above  his  head  as  a  torrent  or  a  sea  in  which 
he  is  being  submerged.  Here,  as  often,  misery  is  symbolised  by  over- 
whelming  floods.  The  Hebrew  word  translated  ‘  misdeed  '  can  also 
mean  punishment.  The  two  are  intimately  connected. 

Super  me,  ‘  beyond  my  strength/  The  sin  and  punishment  to- 
gether  weigh  him  down. 

6.  A  picture  of  a  leper.  The  "  folly  ”=sin.  C/.  lxviii.  6  ;  xxi.  3. 

7.  Contristatus  :  Hebrew,  ‘  in  mourning/ 

8.  This  verse  has  been  vario usly  interpreted.  The  loins  were  the 

Symbol  and  seat  of  strength,  and  the  sense  may  be  therefore,  as 
suggested  in  the  translation  :  my  loins  are  become  an  object  of 
mockery,  i. e.  my  strength  has  deserted  me.  The  Hebrew  is  un- 
satisfactory.  Possibly  it  means  :  ‘  my  loins  are  full  of  buming ; 

there  is  no  sound  spot  in  my  flesh/ 

9.  Rugiebam.  A  very  slight  change  in  the  Hebrew  text  would 
give  the  excellent  sense  :  ‘  I  cry  more  loudly  than  the  lion  roars/ 
The  vehemence  of  the  crying  is  due  to  the  intensity  of  the  suffering. 
The  traditional  Hebrew  text  can  be  rendered  :  ‘  I  cry  (roar)  because 
of  the  wild  surging  of  my  heart/ 

11.  The  effects  of  the  disease. 

Conturbatum.  Hebrew,  ‘  my  heart  beats  furiously  ;  my  strength 
has  abandoned  me  ;  even  the  light  of  my  eyes  fails  me/ 


136 


THE  PSALMS 


12.  Adversum  me  can  scarcely  imply  hostile  approach  ;  they 

come  forward,  and  stand  “  over  against  ”  (so  Greek  and  Hebre w) 
him.  When  they  come  within  sight  of  him,  they  stand.  The 
Hebrew  contrasts  *  my  friends  '  (=‘  those  who  are  near  me’)  with 
their  f  standing  afar  off/  Cf.  Ps.  xxii.  5  for  adversum.  Note  the 
applica tion  of  this  verse  to  Our  Lord  in  Luke  xxiii.  49.  C/.  Ps. 

lxxxvii.  9. 

13.  Vim  faciebant  seems  to  refer  to  the  speci al  effort  which  they 
put  forth  against  him.  The  Greek  verb  is  here  the  same  as  in  the 
famous  text  :  7)  fiacrtWia  tmv  ovpavwv  /Std^erai,  Mat.  xi.  12  (Cf.  Tk.  xvi. 
16).  The  enemies  press  on  intent  on  one  thing  only — his  destruction. 
The  Hebrew  says  simply  :  ‘  They  who  seek  my  life  lay  snares  (for 
me)/ 

15.  Redargutio,  ‘  retort/  reply  to  accusations.  The  sufferer  is 
silent  because  he  knows  that  God  will  not  fail  him.  Cf.  the  Servant 
of  Yahweh  in  Isaias  liii.  7. 

17.  The  ‘  quia  ’  (Hebrew  ki)  does  not,  apparently,  link  up  this 
verse  with  the  preceding.  Hebrew  ki  is  often  used,  it  would  seem, 
without  any  definite  meaning.  It  is  thus  similar  to  the  Assyrian 
particle  ma  which  is  often  used  merely  to  denote  the  continuation 
of  a  theme. 

18.  P 'aratus  sum  :  ‘  I  am  already  given  over  to  the  scourges/ 
The  meaning  ‘  stand  ready  for  *  is  not  so  well  suited  to  the  context, 
though  it  is,  possibly,  the  more  likely  meaning  of  the  Hebrew. 

19.  Cogitabo ,  ‘  I  am  troubled  about/ 

20.  Vivunt,  ‘  go  on  living  '  (and,  therefore,  enjoying  good  fortune). 

Inique,  ‘  without  due  cause/  If  the  Hebrew  text  here  is  compared 

with  the  Hebrew  of  lxviii.  5  (which  is  a  parallel  text),  it  becomes 
ciear  that  we  should  read  here  hinnam  (gratis)  instead  of  haiyim 
(life,  vivunt).  Thus  the  balance  of  the  two  parts  of  the  verse  becomes 
complete  : 

Inimici  .  .  mei  gratis,  confirmati  sunt  super  me  ; 

Multiplicati  sunt  qui  oderunt  me  inique. 

‘  Those  who  are  my  foes  without  reason  ;  those  who  hate  me 
without  cause/ 


PSALM  XXXVIII 


ENDURANCE  IN  TRIAL 


IN  this  poem,  as  in  Psalm  xxxvi,  the  contrast  between  the  pros- 
perity  of  the  godless  and  the  desolation  of  a  loyal  worshipper 
of  God  seems  to  form  the  main  background.  The  singer  is 
afflicted  with  many  sorrows  ;  these  he  recognises  as  the  reward 
of  his  own  sins.  Yet  others,  more  sinful,  and  less  loyal,  than  himself 
are  apparently  untroubled,  and  prosperous.  In  the  eyes  of  these 
careless  worldlings  his  own  piety  stands  convicted  of  folly.  Yet  he 
will  not  complain  ;  he  will  not  even  speak  ;  he  will  give  the  godless 
no  reason  for  mocking.  Restraint,  however,  only  kindles  a  fire 
within  him,  and,  at  last,  he  breaks  out  in  bitter  complaint.  Yet  in 
a  moment  he  realises  how  foolish  it  is  to  complain  against  God.  Man 
is  nothing  before  God.  There  is,  then,  no  hope  for  man  but  to  admit 
his  nothingness,  and  confess  his  sin,  and  trust  in  the  Lord  with  un- 
limited  humility  and  resignation. 

This  psalm  closely  resembles  in  its  general  attitude  Psalm  lxxii. 
Its  reflections  on  the  nothingness  of  man  are  like  those  of  Psalm  lxxxix. 
It  is  largely  a  problem-psalm  and,  in  itself,  might  belong  to  any  age 
in  which  the  problem  of  Providence  was  debated  from  the  standpoint 
that  piety  is  certain  of  worldly  reward,  whatever  facts  may  seem  to 
prove.  The  Hebrew  tradition  assigned  it  to  David.  The  Idithun 
(Yedithun)  of  the  inscription  appears  again  in  the  tities  of  Ps.  lxi 
and  lxxvi.  For  Idithun  (=Ethan)  see  Ps.  xli.  i.  The  inscription 
here  may  mean  :  ‘  For  the  choir-leader  of  the  Idithun  (=Ethan) 
group/  It  might,  however,  be  explained  as=“  Property  of  the 
choir-leader  of  the  Idithun  group.” 


1.  In  finem,  ipsi  Idithun,  i. 

Canticum  David. 

2.  Dixi  :  Custodiam  vias  me-  2. 
as  :  ut  non  delinquam  in  lingua 
mea. 

Posui  ori  meo  custodiam,  cum 
consisteret  peccator  adversum 
me. 

3.  Obmutui,  et  humiliatus  3. 

sum,  et  silui  a  bonis  :  et  dolor 
meus  renovatus  est. 

4.  Concaluit  cor  meum  intra  4. 
me :  et  in  meditatione  mea 
exardescet  ignis. 


For  the  choir-leader  of  the  family  of 
Jeduthun.  A  song  of  David. 

I  said  :  ‘  I  will  keep  guard  over  my  ways, 
So  that  I  may  not  sin  with  my  tongue  : 
I  will  put  a  guard  on  my  mouth 
In  the  presence  of  the  wicked.’ 


I  was  silent  and  humbled,  and  spoke 
naught  of  happiness  : 

But  my  pain  was  renewed. 

My  heart  burned  within  me,  and  through 
my  thinking  a  fire  was  enkindled  : 


137 


THE  PSALMS 


138 


5.  Locutus  sum  in  lingua  5. 
mea : 

Notum  fac  mihi  Domine  finem 
meum. 

Et  numerum  dierum  meorum 
quis  est :  ut  sciam  quid  desit 
mihi. 

6.  Ecce  mensurabiles  posuisti  6. 
dies  meos  :  et  substantia  mea 
tamquam  nihilum  ante  te. 

Verumtamen  universa  vani¬ 
tas,  omnis  homo  vivens. 

7.  Verumtamen  in  imagine  7. 
pertransit  homo  :  sed  et  frustra 
contrubatur. 

Thesaurizat :  et  ignorat  cui 
congregabit  ea. 

8.  Et  nunc  quae  est  exspecta-  8. 
tio  mea  ?  Nonne  Dominus  ? 

Et  substantia  mea  apud  te  est. 

9.  Ab  omnibus  iniquitatibus  9. 
meis  erue  me  :  opprobrium  in¬ 
sipienti  dedisti  me. 

10.  Obmutui,  et  non  aperui  os  10. 
meum,  quoniam  tu  fecisti : 

11.  Amove  a  me  plagas  tuas.  n. 

12.  A  fortitudine  manus  tuae  12. 
ego  defeci  in  increpationibus : 
propter  iniquitatem  corripuisti 
hominem. 

Et  tabescere  fecisti  sicut  ara¬ 
neam  animam  ejus  :  verumta¬ 
men  vane  conturbatur  omnis 
homo. 

13.  Exaudi  orationem  meam  13. 
Domine,  et  deprecationem  me¬ 
am  :  auribus  percipe  lacrimas 
meas. 

Ne  sileas  :  quoniam  advena 
ego  sum  apud  te,  et  peregrinus, 
sicut  omnes  patres  mei. 

14.  Remitte  mihi,  ut  refri- 
gerer  priusquam  abeam,  et  am¬ 
plius  non  ero. 


Then  I  spoke  out  with  my  tongue. 

“  Let  me  know,  O  Lord,  my  end. 

And  what  is  the  number  of  my  days, 
That  I  may  know  how  much  is  stili 
wanting  to  me  [of  my  toll  of  sorrow]  ! 

Behold  !  easily  measured  hast  Thou  made 
my  days  : 

And  my  being  is  as  nothing  before  Thee. 
Indeed,  ali  is  vanity — every  man  that 
liveth  ! 

Indeed,  like  a  shadow  man  passeth  : 

And  fruitless  is  his  worrying  : 
Treasures  he  heapeth  up,  knowing  not 
for  whom  he  gathereth  them. 


And  now,  what  is  my  hope  ? 

Is  it  not  the  Lord  ?  My  very  being  is 
with  Thee. 

Rescue  me  from  all  my  sins  ! 

Thou  hast  made  me  the  scorn  of  fools. 

I  am  silent  and  open  not  my  mouth. 

For  Thou  hast  done  it  ! 

Remove  from  me  Thy  chastisements  ! 

Through  the  weight  of  Thy  hand  I  fade 
away, 

Because  of  [Thy]  chidings. 

For  sin  Thou  punishest  man  : 

Thou  makest  him  to  vanish  as  a  spider. 

Verily  in  vain  doth  a  man  take  anxious 
thought ! 


Hear  my  prayer,  O  Lord, 

And  my  petition  :  give  heed  to  my 
tears. 

Be  not  silent,  for  I  am  a  stranger  before 
Thee, 

And  a  wanderer,  like  all  my  fathers  ! 

Give  me  pardon  that  I  may  be  refreshed, 
Before  I  depart,  and  am  no  more  ! 


2-4.  The  sense  :  the  pious  singer  dared  not  openly  complain  of 
his  griefs  in  the  presence  of  his  godless  foes,  since  that  would  only 
give  them  a  reason  for  mocking  at  the  Lord.  The  strong  restraint 
he  put  upon  himself  only  added  to  his  pains  ;  dolor  meus  renovatus  est : 
his  heart  burned  within  him  and  the  more  he  reflected,  the  greater 
was  the  fire  of  bitterness  which  was  enkindled  within  him,  and,  at 
last  a  flood  of  bitter  words  bursts  from  him  ( locutus  sum  in  lingua). 

5.  His  outburst  is  not  given  to  us,  for  the  words  in  verses  5  and  6 
are  rather  quiet  and  humble.  Hence  we  must  imagine  a  break  in 


ENDURANCE  IN  TRIAL 


r39 


the  poem  after  lingua  mea.  His  outburst  has  not  relieved  him.  It 
has  only  shown  him  how  imprudent  he  could  be.  He  turns,  then, 
to  God  praying  for  resignation,  and  ciear  knowledge  of  his  own 
nothingness.  Man  is  too  insignificant  to  protest  to  God.  This  is 
the  lesson  of  Yahweh’s  address  to  Job,  and  it  seems  also  to  be  St. 
Pauls  position  as  to  predestination  (cf.  Job  xxxviii-xli  ;  Roms.  ix). 

6.  Mensurabiles,  easily  measured,  short.  Hebrew,  “  a  span  hath 
Thou  made  my  days.” 

Substantia,  woo-t  acris,  ali  that  is  solid  and  real  in  me. 

Verumtamen,  ‘  Verily  '  :  Hebrew,  ’akh. 

7.  Notice  solemn  repetition  of  verumtamen.  In  imagine,  a  Hebrew 
construction  =  tanquam  imago. 

Conturbatur ;  ‘  takes  thought/  ‘  is  solicitous/  An  instance  of 

this  is  the  heaping  up  of  wealth  which  will  be  dissipated  by  strangers. 

8.  If  things  are  so,  what  hope  has  the  psalmist  ?  He  can  only 
tum  to  God. 

9.  The  fools  are  the  psalmisfs  godless  adversaries.  They  will 
mock  both  him  and  the  Lord  if  the  Lord  does  not  rescue  him  from 
the  consequences  of  his  sins. 

10.  The  silence  is  that  which  follows  his  tuming  to  God,  and  his 
perceiving  God’s  hand  in  his  troubles  (“for  Thou  hast  done  it”). 
His  sorrow  is  but  the  shadow  of  God’s  hand,  and  this  filis  his  soul 
with  the  silence  of  peace.  Though  he  is  now  resigned  he  prays  to 
be  released  from  the  burden  of  his  pains. 

12.  Fortitudo  manus,  ‘  the  strong  hand  ’  (cf.  Ps.  xx.  5). 

Increpatio  includes  probably  punishment  as  well  as  chiding. 

Sicut  araneam.  The  full  comparison  would  be  animam  ejus 

(=  him)  sicut  animam  (=  life)  araneae. 

Conturbatur  =  Cf.  verse  7. 

13.  The  Lord  is  asked  to  hear  his  prayer  because  he  is  a  guest 
of  the  Lord.  The  earth  is  the  Lords  possession  ;  hence  man  on 
earth  is  the  Lord’s  guest,  and  has  a  right  to  the  protection  and  care 
which  the  East  always  extends  to  the  guest.  The  advena  is  the 
Hebrew  ger,  the  more  or  less  passing  guest  :  the  peregrinus  is  the 
toshabh,  the  foreigner  who  has  settled  in  Israel.  Neither  would  ha  ve 
the  full  rights  of  an  Israelite  Citizen,  and  both  would,  therefore,  need 
special  care  and  protection  as  guests  of  the  nation  (=here,  as  guests 
of  God).  Note  St.  Paul’s  use  of  this  verse  in  Ephes.  ii.  19. 

14.  Remitte,  ‘  relax  Thy  severity  ’  ;  that  I  may  have  a  momenLs 
peace  (Hebrew  :  ‘  that  I  may  look  cheerful/  that  I  may  smile  again. 
The  Arabie  verb  correspondjing  to  the  Hebrew  here  used  expresses 
the  idea  of  sunli ght  bursting  suddenly  through  the  clouds.  Jerome’s 
rendering  is  good  :  Parce  mihi  ut  rideam.). 

The  last  words  of  the  psalm  are  taken  by  many  critics  as  the 
gloomiest  in  the  Bible,  expressing,  as  they  seem  to  do,  the  hopelessness 
of  coming  extinction.  Yet  it  might  be  maintained  that  the  sug- 


140 


THE  PSALMS 


gestion  of  the  psalm,  as  a  whole,  is,  that  the  problems  of  Providence 
cannot  be  worked  out  fully  within  the  span  of  a  man’s  earthly  life. 
The  psalmist  would  not  emphasise  so  strongly  his  hope  and  trust  in 
the  Lord  if  he  did  not  believe  that  things  would  ultimately  be  set 
right.  Man’s  life  is  short,  but  the  life  of  the  Lord  is  forever,  and 
man’s  whole  being  depends  on  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  is  good  !  The 
little  “  breathing-space  *'  before  the  psalmist ’s  departure  from  the 
tangible  realities  of  earthly  life,  would  serve,  at  all  events,  to  supply 
an  answer  to  the  taunts  of  the  godless,  and  an  encoura gement  to  loyal 
worshippers  who  were  in  trouble,  The  parallel  in  Job  x.  20-21  : 

Are  not  my  days  but  few  ? 

Let  Him  leave  me  space  to  cheer  up 
Before  I  be  gone — without  return — 

To  the  land  of  darkness  and  death-shade.1 

suggests  clearly  that  the  psalm  passage  looks  on  death  merely  as  the 
end  of  earthly  joys,  and  not 'as  utter  extinction. 


1  Trans,  by  King,  The  Poem  of  Job. 


PSALM  XXXIX 


OBEDIENCE  AND  GRATITUDE  ARE  BETTER 

THAN  SACRIFICE 


VERSES  14-18  of  this  psalm  appear  as  a  separate  poem  in 
Ps.  lxix.  This  fact,  together  with  the  contrast  of  verses  1-11 
with  verses  12-18 — the  contrast,  as  it  has  been  put,  of  a 
Magnificat  with  a  De  profundis — has  led  modern  students  to 
look  on  Ps.  xxxix  as  a  fusion  of  two  originally  distinet  poems.  The 
theme  of  the  hrst  part  (1-11)  is  thanksgiving  for  rescue  from  perii  ; 
the  theme  of  the  second  is  petition  for  help  in  trouble. 

In  the  first  part  the  psalmist  telis  us  that  he  has  been  saved  from 
perii,  and  will  sing  a  song  of  thanks  (1-4).  Fortunate  is  the  man  who 
puts  his  trust  in  the  Lord,  the  wonderful  Protector  of  Israel  since  the 
ancient  days  (5-6).  True  thanks  to  the  Lord  is  not  the  offering  of 
sacrifices,  but  conduct  that  executes  His  will.  Obedience  is  better 
than  sacrifice  (7-9).  The  psalmist  has  published,  and  will  ever 
publish,  the  mercies  of  the  Lord.  The  second  part  is  an  earnest 
petition  for  rescue  by  the  Lord  from  the  great  trouble  in  which  the 
psalmist  now  stands.  It  has  in  common  with  the  first,  the  idea  that 
the  Lord  wins  the  wonder  and  praise  of  all  who  learn  of  the  deeds  of 
rescue  which  He  has  performed  for  His  faithful  servants. 

Here  again  we  ha  ve  little  to  guide  us,  beyond  the  title,  in  deter- 
mining  the  occasion  or  date  of  the  poem.  The  Messianic  meaning  of 
verses  7-9  is  established  by  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebre ws. 

1.  In  finem  Psalmus  ipsi  1.  For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of  David. 
David. 

2.  Expectans  expectavi  Do¬ 
minum,  et  intendit  mihi. 

3.  Et  exaudivit  preces  meas, 
et  eduxit  me  de  lacu  miseriae  et 
de  luto  faecis. 

Et  statuit  super  petram  pedes 
meos,  et  direxit  gressus  meos. 

4.  Et  immisit  in  os  meum  can¬ 
ticum  novum,  carmen  Deo  no¬ 
stro. 

Videbunt  multi,  et  timebunt, 
et  sperabunt  in  Domino. 

5.  Beatus  vir  cujus  est  nomen 
Domini  spes  ejus,  et  non  re¬ 
spexit  in  vanitates  et  insanias 
falsas. 

141 


2.  I  trustingly  waited  for  the  Lord, 

3.  And  He  gave  heed  to  me,  and  He  heard 

my  prayers  ; 

And  drew  me  forth  from  the  pit  of  sorrow, 
And  the  slimy  ooze  : 

And  planted  my  feet  on  a  rock. 

And  guided  my  steps  : 

4.  And  in  my  mouth  He  put  a  new  song — 

A  song  of  praise  to  our  God. 

Many  saw  it,  and  feared. 

And  put  their  trust  in  the  Lord. 


5.  Lucky  is  the  man  whose  hope 
Is  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  ; 
Who  heeds  not  worthless  things. 
And  foolish  ravings  ! 


142 


THE  PSALMS 


6.  Multa  fecisti  tu,  Domine  6.  Many  wondrous  deeds  hast  Thou  done, 
Deus  meus,  mirabilia  tua  :  et  O  Lord,  my  God  ! 


cogitationibus  tuis  non  est  qui 
similis  sit  tibi. 

Annuntiavi,  et  locutus  sum  : 
multiplicati  sunt  super  nume¬ 
rum. 


7.  Sacrificium  et  oblationem  7. 

noluisti  :  aures  autem  perfecisti 
mihi. 

Holocaustum  et  pro  peccato 
non  postulasti  : 

8.  Tunc  dixi  :  Ecce  venio.  8. 

In  capite  libri  scriptum  est 

de  me, 

9.  Ut  facerem  voluntatem  tu-'  9. 

am  :  Deus  meus,  volui,  et  legem 
tuam  in  medio  cordis  mei. 

10.  Annuntiavi  justitiam  tu-  10. 
am  in  ecclesia  magna  :  ecce 
labia  mea  non  prohibebo  :  Do¬ 
mine,  tu  scisti. 

11.  Justitiam  tuam  non  ab-  11. 
scondi  in  corde  meo  :  veritatem 
tuam  et  salutare  tuum  dixi. 

Non  abscondi  misericordiam 
tuam  et  veritatem  tuam  a 
concilio  multo. 


12.  Tu  autem,  Domine,  ne  12. 
longe  facias  miserationes  tuae 

a  me  :  misericordia  tua  et  veri¬ 
tas  tua  semper  susceperunt  me. 

13.  Quoniam  circumdederunt  13. 
me  mala  quorum  non  est  nu¬ 
merus  :  comprehenderunt  me 
iniquitates  meae,  et  non  potui  ut 
viderem. 

Multiplicatae  sunt  super  ca¬ 
pillos  capitis  mei,  et  cor  meum 
dereliquit  me. 

14.  Complaceat  tibi,  Domine,  14. 
ut  eruas  me  :  Domine,  ad  ad¬ 
juvandum  me  respice. 

15.  Confundantur  et  revere-  15. 
antur  simul,  qui  quaerunt  ani¬ 
mam  meam,  ut  auferant  eam. 

Convertantur  retrorsum  et 
revereantur,  qui  volunt  mihi 
mala. 

16.  Ferant  confestim  confu-  16. 
sionem  suam,  qui  dicunt  mihi  : 

Euge,  euge. 

17.  Exultent  et  laetentur  su-  17. 
per  te  omnes  quaerentes  te  :  et 
dicant  semper :  Magnificetur 
Dominus,  qui  diligunt  salutare 
tuum. 


rhere  is  no  one  who  nseth 

To  the  level  of  Thy  thoughts. 

Should  I  wish  to  proclaim  them  and  teli 
them — 

They  are  many — beyond  ali  counting  ! 


Sacrifice  and  offering  Thou  wouldst  not ; 

But  ears  thou  hast  made  for  me  : 

Burnt-offering  and  sin-offering  Thou 
demandest  not  ; 

Therefore,  I  say  :  Behold,  I  come — 

In  the  volume  is  this  enjoined  on  me — 

To  do  Thy  will.  I  delight,  O  my  God, 

In  Thy  law  which  is  in  my  heart. 

I  have  proclaimed  Thy  justice  in  the 
Great  Assembly  : 

Behold,  I  restrain  not  my  lips  ! 

Lord,  Thou  knowest  it  ! 

I  hide  not  Thy  justice  in  my  heart ; 

Thy  fidelity  and  Thy  saving  help  I 
praise. 

Thy  graciousness  and  faithfulness  I  have 
not  hidden 

From  the  great  Congregation. 


Take  not  from  me,  O  Lord, 

Thy  deeds  of  pity  ! 

Thy  loving-kindness  and  Thy  faithfulness 
Will  guard  me  ever  ! 

For  misfortunes  beset  me, 

Beyond  number  : 

My  sins  overtake  me. 

And  I  can  no  longer  see. 

They  are  more  in  number  than  the  hairs 
of  my  head  ; 

And  my  courage  has  failed  me. 


May  it  please  Thee,  O  Lord,  to  rescue  me  ! 
O  Lord,  set  Thy  mind  to  help  me  ! 

May  they  be  put  to  shame  and  confusion, 
Who  seek  to  take  my  life  ! 

May  they  fall  back  with  dishonour, 

Who  would  see  my  ruin  ! 


May  they  at  once  meet  their  shame 
Who  cry  to  me  :  Ha  !  Ha  ! 

Let  ali  those  who  seek  after  Thee, 
Rejoice,  and  be  glad,  in  Thee  ! 

And  let  them  who  delight  in  Thy  saving 
help,  at  ali  times  say  : 

‘  Praised  be  the  Lord  !  ’ 


OBEDIENCE  AND  GRATITUDE 


J43 


18.  Ego  autem  mendicus  sum 
et  pauper  :  Dominus  sollicitus 
est  mei. 

Adjutor  meus  et  protector 
meus  tu  es  :  Deus  meus,  ne 
tardaveris. 


18.  But  I  am  a  beggar  and  wretched  ; 

Yet  the  Lord  taketh  care  for  me  ! 
Thou  art  my  Helper  and  Protector  ! 
Tarry  not,  O  my  God  ! 


i,  3.  Cisterns  were  sometimes  used  as  prisons,  and  in  the  cisterns 
there  would  be  always  a  certain  amount  of  slime  and  mud  at  the 
bottom.  Hence  the  contrast  with  the  firm  foothold  on  the  rock.. 
The  cistern,  or  pit,  is  a  symbol  of  perii  and  suffering.  C/.  Jer.  xxxviii. 
6  ;  Ps.  lxviii.  2,  3,  15. 

4.  This  is  his  song  of  thanksgiving.  What  the  many  saw  was  the 
rescue  of  the  psalmist  from  perii.  They  join  with  him  in  his  song  of 
thanks  in  verse  5. 

5.  The  vanitates  and  insaniae  falsae  refer  evidently  to  the  worship 
of  false  gods,  and  to  heathen  oracle-giving,  respectively.  This  would 
be  strange  in  the  mouth  of  David  ! 

6.  Here,  perhaps,  the  psalmist  is  to  be  thought  as  chanting  alone. 
He  thinks  of  all  the  great  doings  of  the  Lord  since  the  Exodus.  In 
the  translation  similis  is  taken  along  with  cogitationibus  tuis  ( tibi 
being  pleonistic).  The  Hebrew  seems  to  mean  that  no  one  can  give 
to  the  Lord  the  due  meed  of  praise. 

7.  The  thought -sequence  is  :  How  then  shall  I  give  due  thanks  ? 
The  answer  is  :  Not  by  sacrifice,  but  by  obedience.  For  the  same 
idea  cf.  Amos  v.  21 ff ',  Isaias  i.  uff Osee  vi.  6;  and,  especially, 
I  Kings  xv.  22.  Note  the  list  of  sacrifices  :  Sacrifice  (in  general ;  only 
a  portion  of  animal  being  burned  on  the  altar)  ;  meal-offering  ;  holo- 
caust  ;  sin-offering.  None  of  these  sufficed.  Hence  the  psalmist 
offers  his  own  will :  “I  come  to  do  Thy  will,  for  thus  in  the  Volume 
it  is  enjoined  on  me."  The  caput  libri  is  the  Greek  KepaXts  6if3\tov 
—  the  projecting  end  of  the  support  round  which  the  “  volume  " 
was  rolled  and  then  the  roh  or  volume  itself.  It  may  be  here  the 
Torah  in  general,  or,  better  perhaps,  the  passage,  already  referred  to, 
in  I  Kings  xv.  22  :  Obedience  is  better  than  sacrifice. 

Scriptum  est  de  me,  ‘  prescribed  for  me  ’  (as  for  every  believer). 
In  Hebrews  (followed  in  translation  above)  this  phrase  is  read  in 
parenthesis,  and  ut  facerem,  etc.,  is  made  to  depend  on  venio.  The 
ut  facerem,  etc.,  could  also,  and  perhaps  more  naturally,  be  made  to 
depend  on  volui  (verse  9). 

The  phrase  aures  autem  perfecisti  mihi  expresses  also  the  idea  that 
obedience  is  the  best  manner  of  Service.  The  ears  symbolise  ready 
compliance.  Perfecisti,  ‘  hast  fashioned.’  The  psalmist  has  been 
given  ears  ready  to  listen  to  Gods  commands,  and  he  declares  him- 
self  ready  also  to  fulhl  them. 

The  words  in  verses  7-9  are  put  by  the  author  of  Hebrews  in  the 


H4 


THE  PSALMS 


mouth  of  Christ.  Cn  Christ,  as  on  every  faithful  servant  of  God, 
obedience  was  enjoined  in  the  Scriptures,  and  to  Christ,  also,  as  God, 
the  words  of  the  God-inspired  psalmist  are  properly  ascribed. 
Hebrews,  with  the  Septuagint,  reads  :  “a  body  hast  Thou  fashioned 
for  me  ”  (Hebrews  x.  5-15),  and  this  reading  is  followed  by  the  Psalt. 
Rom.  It  is  a  departure  from  the  Massora,  and  from  the  ancient 
Greek  versions  of  Aquila  and  Symmachus.  Possibly  “  body  ”  has 
got  into  the  Septuagint  text  from  Hebrews.  The  argument  in  Hebrews 
does  not  depend  on  the  exact  words,  but  only  on  the  general  sense,  of 
our  psalm-passage.  Yet  the  reading  “  body  ”  makes  it  easier  for 
the  writer  of  Hebrews  to  show  that  the  truly  God-willed,  and  all- 
sufficient  sacrifice  for  sin  was  that  of  the  body  of  Christ. 

The  Hebrew  text  is  :  Ears  thou  hast  digged  (or  hollowed  out) 
for  me.  There  may  be  a  reference  in  this  to  the  custom  of  nailing 
to  the  door-post  the  ear  of  the  sia  ve  who  refused  to  accept  his  freedom, 
and  thus  declared  himself  ready  to  give  up  his  will  for  e  ver.  Vid. 
Exod.  xxi.  1-6.  Jerome's  translation  has  :  aures  fodisti  mihi. 

The  psalmist  has  God  s  law  written  not  merely  in  a  book,  but  in 
his  own  heart. 

10.  True  thankfulness  to  God  is  shown  by  the  oonduct  of  life  ; 
but  the  psalmist  insists,  also,  on  the  thanks  of  praising  song. 

12/.  Here  begins  the  petition  for  rescue,  verse  12  serving  as  a  sort 
of  transition  or  introduction. 

13.  Ut  viderem  for  videre  :  his  eyes  are  dimmed  by  grief  and  care. 
Cf.  I  Kings  hi.  2  ;  iv.  14. 

16-17.  Cf.  Ps.  xxxiv.  27-28. 


PSALM  XL 


PRAYER  OF  A  SICK  MAN  AGAINST 
TREACHEROUS  ENEMIES 

THE  poem  begins  in  a  general  way  with  a  reflection  on  the 
chief  ground  of  hope  for  recovery  from  illness.  The  hope  of 
recovery  rests  mainly  on  the  circumstance  that  the  sick  one 
has  exercised  mercy  towards  others  in  the  days  of  his  health. 
Whosoever  has  shown  mercy  will  receive  mercy  from  the  Lord  !  The 
psalmist  begs,  then,  the  gift  of  health  from  the  Lord,  implying  that 
he  himself  has  been  merciful.  But  the  men  to  whom  he  has  been 
kind  in  the  past,  seem  to  have  become  hostile  during  his  illness.  This 
is  true  parti cularly  of  a  former  friend,  an  old-time  constant  guest, 
whose  ingratitude  hurts  the  psalmist  most  of  ali.  The  false  fiiends 
mock  at  his  sickness,  and  take  comfort  from  the  apparent  near  ap- 
proach  of  his  death.  He  is  roused  to  intense  anger  by  their  malice, 
and  begs  passionately  for  recovery  that  he  may  be  able  to  requite 
them  for  their  ingratitude.  He  associates  his  own  cause  with  the 
interests  of  the  Lord  ;  his  enemies  are  the  enemies  of  the  Lord,  and, 
in  this  spirit,  he  prays  for  their  destruction.  His  own  recovery  and 
renewed  prosperity  will  prove  to  the  mockers,  and  to  the  world,  that 
the  Lord  protects  the  guiltless.  The  last  verse  is  a  Doxology  inserted 
to  mark  the  end  of  the  First  Book  of  Psalms. 

As  is  the  case  with  so  many  of  the  psalms  of  sickness,  we  are 
unable  to  determine  the  occasion  of  this  poem.  Modern  criticism 
is  inclined  to  find  the  key  to  its  vehemence  by  explaining  it  as  a 
national  poem,  a  song  dealing  with  the  fortunes  of  Israel.  Yet  there 
are  several  verses  which  are  much  more  natural  when  understood  of 
an  individual  than  when  taken  as  referred  to  the  nation.  So  verses 
4,  7,  io.  Apart,  however,  from  the  tradition  shown  in  the  inscrip- 
tion,  there  is  no  special  reason  for  taking  the  psalm  as  Davidic.  Verse 
io  has  received  a  Messianic  interpretation  in  John  xiii.  18  ;  but,  of 
course,  everything  that  was  true  of  the  suffering,  of  God-fearing  men 
of  ancient  Israel  would  be  true,  in  the  highest  sense,  of  the  greatest 
son  of  Israel,  Our  Lord.  The  malice  of  ingratitude,  on  the  other 
hand,  seemed  to  reach  its  greatest  intensity  in  Judas  ;  he  summed 
up  in  himself  the  ingratitude  of  all  the  enemies  of  the  just  men  who 
had  suffered  in  Israel. 


IO 


i45 


THE  PSALMS 


146 

1.  In  finem,  Psalmus  ipsi  1.  For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of  David. 
David. 


2.  Beatus  qui  intelligit  super 
egenum,  et  pauperem  :  in  die 
mala  liberabit  eum  Dominus. 

3.  Dominus  conservet  eum, 
et  vivificet  eum,  et  beatum 
faciat  eum  in  terra :  et  non 
tradat  eum  in  animam  inimi¬ 
corum  ejus. 

4.  Dominus  opem  ferat  illi 
super  lectum  doloris  ejus  :  uni¬ 
versum  stratum  ejus  versasti  in 
infirmitate  ejus. 


2.  Blessed  is  he  who  takes  thought  for  the 

poor  and  the  needy  ! 

In  the  day  of  trouble  the  Lord  will 
rescue  him. 

3.  The  Lord  will  keep  him  and  sustain  him, 

and  make  him  happy  in  the  land, 
And  will  not  deliver  him  up  to  the  will 
of  his  foes. 

4.  The  Lord  will  bring  him  solace  when  he 

lies  on  the  bed  of  pain  ; 

In  the  time  of  his  sickness  Thou  wilt 
change  his  bed  of  pain  into  a  bed  of 
rest. 


5.  Ego  dixi  :  Domine,  mise¬ 
rere  mei :  sana  animam  meam, 
quia  peccavi  tibi. 

6.  Inimici  mei  dixerunt  mala 
mihi  :  Quando  morietur,  et 
peribit  nomen  ejus  ? 

7.  Et  si  ingrediebatur  ut 
videret,  vana  loquebatur  :  cor 
ejus  congregavit  iniquitatem 
sibi. 

8.  Egrediebatur  foras,  et  lo¬ 
quebatur  in  idipsum. 

Adversum  me  susurrabant 
omnes  inimici  mei  :  adversum 
me  cogitabant  mala  mihi. 

9.  Verbum  iniquum  consti¬ 
tuerunt  adversum  me :  Num- 
quid  qui  dormit  non  adjiciet  ut 
resurgat  ? 

10.  Etenim  homo  pacis  meae, 
in  quo  speravi  :  qui  edebat 
panes  meos,  magnificavit  super 
me  supplantationem. 


5.  I  say  (therefore)  :  ‘Lord  be  gracious  to 

me ! 

Heal  my  soul,  for  I  have  sinned  against 
Thee/ 

6.  My  enemies  speak  evil  things  of  me  : 

‘  When  will  he  die,  and  when  will  his 
name  perish  ?  ’ 

7.  And  when  one  cometh  to  visit  me,  he 

speaketh  lies  ; 

His  heart  storeth  up  malice, 

8.  He  goeth  out,  and  speaketh  thereof. 
All  my  enemies  whisper  together  against 

me  ; 

Evii  things  they  plan  against  me. 

9.  Against  me  they  set  up  their  godless 

saying  : — 

‘  Surely  he  that  sleepeth  will  not  rise 
again  !  ’ 

io.  Yes,  even  my  intimate  friend,  in  whom  I 
completely  trusted. 

And  who  ate  my  bread,  acts  treacher- 
ously  against  me. 


11.  Tu  autem  Domine  mise-  11. 
rere  mei,  et  resuscita  me  :  et 
retribuam  eis. 

12.  In  hoc  cognovi  quoniam  12. 
voluisti  me  :  quoniam  non  gau¬ 
debit  inimicus  meus  super  me. 

13.  Me  autem  propter  inno-  13. 
centiam  suscepisti  :  et  confirm¬ 
asti  me  in  conspectu  tuo  in 
aeternum. 


But  Thou,  O  Lord,  be  gracious  to  me  and 
restore  me, 

That  I  may  have  my  vengeance  on 
them  ! 

Thus  shall  I  know  that  Thou  hast  pleasure 
in  me, 

When  my  enemy  boasteth  not  over 
me. 

Me  Thou  guardest  because  of  my  guilt- 
lessness  ; 

And  Thou  dost  establish  me  before 
Thee  for  ever  and  ever  ! 


14.  Benedictus  Dominus  De-  14.  (Praised  be  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel, 
us  Israel  a  saeculo,  et  usque  in  for  ever.  Arnen  !  Arnen  !) 

saeculum  :  fiat,  fiat. 


A  PRAYER  AGAINST  ENEMIES 


H7 


2.  Intelligit,  ‘  attentively  considers/  The  reference  is  primarily 

to  intelligence,  not  to  will,  to  understanding  rather  than  sympathy. 
The  Hebrew  maskil  might  be  regarded  as  a  parti ciple,  and  translated 
as  here  qui  intelligit.  But  it  is  possible  that  the  word  is  here  used 
as  the  designation  of  a  kind  of  poem  or  song.  The  meaning  of  verse  2, 
on  that  supposition,  would  be  :  ‘  Blessed  is  the  maskil  (addressed)  to 
the  wretched/  The  maskil  might  be  looked  on  as  including  verses 
26-4.  The  sick  man  would  recite  the  words  of  the  maskil  for  his  own 
comfort.  (For  the  meaning  of  maskil  see  Ps.  xli.  1  ;  xlvi.  8.)  The 
folio wing  verses  are  the  psalmisFs  description  of  his  own  con- 

dition.  He  trnsts  that  the  general  principies  expressed  in  verses  26-4 
(=  the  maskil)  will  find  application  to  himself. 

In  die  mala,  in  time  of  his  own  neea  or  trouble. 

3.  Anima,  desire,  capri  ce.  The  older  Latin  texts,  folio  wing  the 
Greek,  read  in  manus  inimici 

4.  Universum  stratum ,  etc.  :  ‘  his  couch  Thou  wholly  transformest 
in  the  time  of  his  illness/  i.e.  Thou  changest  his  bed  of  sickness  into  a 
bed  of  convalescence,  or  health. 

6.  The  ‘  evil  things  *  seem  to  be  evil  wishes.  A  specimen  is  given 
in  what  follows.  Mihi  represents  Hebrew  li.  The  better  reading  is 
'alai,  ‘  about  me/  (The  text  ought  to  be  ra‘  ‘ alai ,  instead  of  ral  li ; 
the  ‘  of  ra‘  has  led  to  the  dropping  of  the  ‘  of  ‘alai) 

7,  8.  They  come  in  to  see  if  he  is  dying  as  rapidly  as  they  desire  ; 
they  form  their  opinion  of  the  sick  man’s  condition,  while  they  make 
hypocritical  inquiries  about  his  health.  Then  they  go  out  to  their 
comrades  to  make  report  on  the  chances  of  his  speedy  death.  All 
join  in  the  earnest  wish  for  his  death,  and  all  come  to  the  conclusion 
(which  the  psalmist  calls  ‘  an  iniquitous  word  ’)  :  ‘  Surely  the  sick 
man  will  not  rise  from  his  bed  again/  The  description  is  very  vivid. 
It  is  not  easy  to  explain  verses  6-7  of  the  nation  Israel. 

Non  adjiciet  ut  resurgat  is  a  familiar  Hebrew  idiom  :  ‘  he  will  not 
rise  again/  Apponere  and  addere  are  used  in  the  same  way  as  adjicere. 
Cf.  Ps.  lxxvii.  17  ;  lxxvi.  8.  etc.,  etc.  See  examples  quoted  in  note 
to  Ps.  vi.  5. 

9.  Verbum  iniquum  ;  this  is,  in  the  Vulgate  text,  the  psalmi  st 's 
description  of  his  foes’  evil  wishes  in  his  regard.  The  Hebrew,  how- 
ever,  seems  to  make  the  whole  of  verse  9  an  expression  of  the  views 
of  the  plotters  :  *  An  altogether  evil  thing  ’  is  poured  out  on  him  (or 
clings  to  him)  ;  and  where  he  lies,  he  never  will  rise  again.' 

10.  Even  his  friend,  who  has  often  been  his  guest,  joins  with  the 
rest.  The  ‘  man  of  my  peace  ’  is  a  Hebraism — *  my  most  intimate 
friend  ’ — one  with  whom  I  am  always  at  peace. 

Supplantatio,  ‘  treachery/  The  phrase,  magnificavit,  etc.,  means„ 
*  he  hath  used  intense  treachery  against  me/  The  Hebrew  has  : 
'  He  hath  raised  the  heel  against  me/  i.e.,  ‘  he  kicks  me/  (So,  in 
John  xiii.  18  :  Levabit  contra  me  calcaneum  suum.)  The  Hebrew 


THE  PSALMS 


148 

phrase  is,  however,  unusual,  and  the  Latin  is  certainly  better  by  its 
suggestion  of  treachery  on  the  part  of  the  quondam  friend. 

12,  13.  It  is  the  disappointment  and  defeat  of  his  enemies  that 
proves  to  the  psalmist  the  Lords  interest  in  himself.  In  so  far  as 
he  enjoys  the  Lords  favour,  he  knows  that  he  is  free  from  guilt. 

14.  This  verse  is  not  original.  It  marks  the  end  of  the  first  Book 
of  Psalms.  For  the  similar  doxologies  marking  the  completion  of 
other  books,  see  Ps.  lxxi.  18-20  ;  lxxxviii.  53  ;  cv.  47-48. 


PSALM  XLI 


LONGING  FOR  GOD 


THE  poet  is  far  from  the  Temple  and  its  worship,  in  some  part, 
perhaps,  of  the  northern  East  Jordanland.  He  bids  his 
soni,  in  a  twice  repeated  refrain,  to  hope  for  a  share  in  the 
Temple  worship  once  more.  His  enemies  mock  him  because 
he  has  no  ritual  of  sacrificial  worship,  and,  therefore,  seems  to  have 
no  God.  He  thinks  of  great  days  in  the  past  when  he  journeyed 
with  joyous  pilgrim  throngs  to  the  ancient  shrine  of  the  nation.  The 
memory  sustains  him  now  when  he  is  so  far  away  from  Jeru salem. 
He  has,  indeed,  no  solemn  worship  of  the  Lord  in  the  lonely  place  of 
his  sojoum,  but  he  sings  in  the  night  time  the  praises  of  Israels  God. 
*  Be  not  sad,  my  soul/  he  concludes,  ‘  Once  again  I  shall  praise  the 
Lord  before  His  face  in  the  Temple  and  say  to  Him  :  “  Thou  art  my 
Helper  and  my  God/  ” 

Davidic  origin  is  not  claimed  for  this  Psalm,  and,  as  the  poem 
seems  to  imply  the  existence  of  Temple  worship,  Davidic  origin  is, 
indeed,  excluded.  The  presence  of  the  refrain  of  Ps.  xli  in  Ps.  xlii, 
and  other  points  of  contact  have  led  nearly  all  modern  commentators 
to  regard  Ps.  xli  and  xlii  as  a  single  poem.  Since,  however,  this 
view  is  not  quite  certain  (Ps.  xlii,  for  instance,  being  ascribed  in 
the  Greek  to  David),  and  since  this  work  deals  with  the  Vulgate 
Psalter,  it  is  more  convenient  to  treat  Psalms  xli  and  xlii  separately. 
The  author,  some  commentators  think,  probably  was  a  priest.  The 
mosaic  of  psalm  passages  in  Jonas  ii.  3-10  includes  a  verse  from 
Ps.  xii,  so  that  this  psalm  is,  most  probably,  older  than  the  Book  of 
Jonas.  It  is  certainly  older  than  586  B.c.,  since  it  supposes  the  Temple 
stili  standing.  There  is  nothing  in  the  psalm  to  support  the  popular 
radical  view  that  the  writer  was  the  High  Priest  Onias  III,  and  that 
the  occasion  of  the  psahn  was  the  conquest  of  Jerusalem  by  Scopas, 
a  captain  under  Ptolemy  Epiphanes.  The  scene  of  its  composition 
is  probably  indicated  in  verse  7. 

1.  In  finem  intellectus  filiis  1.  For  the  choir-leader.  A  maskil  of  the 
Core.  sons  of  Core. 


2.  Quemadmodum  desiderat 
cervus  ad  fontes  aquarum  :  ita 
desiderat  anima  mea  ad  te 
Deus. 


2.  As  the  stag  longeth 

For  the  running  streams, 
So  longeth  my  heart 
For  Thee,  O  God  ! 


149 


150 


THE  PSALMS 


3.  Sitivit  anima  mea  ad  De¬ 
um  fortem  vivum  :  quando 
veniam,  et  apparebo  ante  faciem 
Dei  ? 

4.  Fuerunt  mihi  lacrimae  meae 
panes  die  ac  nocte  :  dum  dicitur 
mihi  quotidie :  Ubi  est  Deus 
tuus  ? 


5.  Haec  recordatus  sum,  et 
effudi  in  me  animam  meam  : 
quoniam  transibo  in  locum  ta¬ 
bernaculi  admirabilis,  usque  ad 
domum  Dei  : 

In  voce  exsultationis,  et  con¬ 
fessionis  :  sonus  epulantis. 


6.  Quare  tristis  es  anima 
mea  ?  et  quare  conturbas  me  ? 

Spera  in  Deo,  quoniam  adhuc 
confitebor  illi :  salutare  vultus 
mei,  et  Deus  meus. 


7.  Ad  meipsum  anima  mea 
conturbata  est :  propterea  me¬ 
mor  ero  tui  de  terra  Jordanis,  et 
Hermoniim  a  monte  modico. 

8.  Abyssus  abyssum  invocat, 
in  voce  cataractarum  tuarum. 

Omnia  excelsa  tua,  et  fluctus 
tui  super  me  transierunt. 


9.  In  die  mandavit  Dominus 
misericordiam  suam  :  et  nocte 
canticum  ejus. 

Apud  me  oratio  Deo  vitae 
meae, 

10.  Dicam  Deo  :  Susceptor 
meus  es. 

Quare  oblitus  es  mei  ?  et 
quare  contristatus  incedo,  dum 
affligit  me  inimicus  ? 

11.  Dum  confringuntur  ossa 
mea,  exprobraverunt  mihi  qui 
tribulant  me  inimici  mei. 

Dum  dicunt  mihi  per  singulos 
dies  :  Ubi  est  Deus  tuus  ? 

12.  Quare  tristis  es  anima 
mea,  et  quare  conturbas  me  ? 

Spera  in  Deo,  quoniam  adhuc 
confitebor  illi :  salutare  vultus 
mei,  et  Deus  meus. 


3.  My  soul  thirsteth  for  God, 

The  Strong,  the  Living  ! 

When  may  I  come  and  stand 
Before  the  face  of  God  ? 

4.  My  tears  are  my  bread 

By  day  and  night, 

While  day  by  day  they  say  to  me  : 
‘  Where  is  thy  God  ?  ’ 


5.  On  this  I  think, 

And  pour  out  my  soul — ■ 

How  I  journeyed  to  the  place  of  the 
wondrous  Tabernacle, — • 

To  the  House  of  God, 

Midst  resounding  song  of  praise  and 
thanksgiving — 

The  jubilee  of  festi val  ! 


6.  My  soul,  why  art  thou  sad  ;  and  why 
troublest  thou  me  ? 

Put  thy  trust  in  God,  for  even  yet  I  shall 
praise  Him  [thus]  : 

"  My  Rescuer  and  my  God  !  ” 


7.  My  soul  is  troubled  within  me  ; 

Therefore  do  I  think  of  Thee, 

In  the  Jordanland  and  on  the  little  hili 
Of  the  Hermon  range. 

8.  Flood  calleth  unto  flood 

With  the  thunder  of  Thy  rushing 
waters. 

All  Thy  waves  and  Thy  billows 
Pass  over  me. 


9.  In  the  day,  God  giveth  command  to  His 
kindness  ; 

In  the  night  time  with  me  is  the  song  of 
His  praises — 

A  prayer  to  the  God  of  my  life. 

10.  ToGodldosay:  Thou  art  my  Protector ! 

Why  dost  Thou  forget  me  ? 

And  Why  do  I  go  about  in  sadness  ? 
While  my  enemies  persecute  me  ? 

11.  While  my  bones  are  being  shattered 

My  oppressing  enemies  revile  me, 
Saying  to  me  day  by  day  : 

‘  Where  is  thy  God  ?  ’ 


12.  My  soul,  why  art  thou  sad,  and  why 
troublest  thou  me  ? 

Put  thy  trust  in  the  Lord,  for  even  yet  I 
shall  praise  Him  [thus]  : 

“  My  Rescuer  and  my  God  !  ” 


LONGING  FOR  GOD 


151 

1.  Intellectus  :  intellectus  translates  tbe  Hebrew,  maskil.  The 
designation  maskil  occurs  in  connection  with  the  tities  of  Psalms  xxxi, 
xli,  xliii,  xliv,  li-liv,  lxxiii,  lxxvii,  lxxxvii,  lxxxviii,  cxli.  It  occurs 
also  in  Ps.  xlvi.  8  (in  the  phrase,  ‘  Sing  a  maskil  '• — Psallite  sapienter) 
as  the  name  of  a  definite  kind  of  poem.  Verses  2-4  of  Ps.  xl  are 
described  as  a  maskil  in  the  Hebrew  text.  Maskil  has  usually  been 
explained  as  meaning  a  didactic,  or  sapiential  poem.  Ps.  xxxi  and 
lxxvii  are,  in  a  true  sense,  didactic  poems,  but  the  other  maskil- psalms 
are  very  varied  in  character,  and  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  single  formula 
wjhich  will  describe  them  ali.  Possibly  we  should  be  right  in  saying 
that  maskil  is  a  name  for  ali  poems  which  aim  at  teaching  that  wisdom 
of  which  the  fear  of  God  is  the  beginning — for  all  poems  which  incul¬ 
cate  the  need  of  faith  in  God,  and  of  the  sort  of  conduct  which  is 
based  on  that  faith. 

Filiis  Core.  It  appears  from  I  Paralip.  vi.  31  that  David  entrusted 
the  care  of  the  Temple  music  to  three  Levite  families — the  family 
of  Asaph  (descended  from  Gersham),  the  family  of  Heman  (descended 
from  K*hath,  and  also  from  Korach  =  Core)  and  the  family  of  Ethan 
(same  as  Yedithun,  or  Idithun,  descended  from  Merari).  The 
musicians  of  these  three  families  David  divided  into  twenty-four 
classes,  giving  to  each  class  twelve  choir-masters,  and  twelve  pupils. 
The  musicians  of  the  three  families  took  part  in  the  ceremonial  of 
the  bringing  of  the  Ark  to  Sion  (I  Paral.  xv.  7  ;  xvi.  5),  and  of  the 
restoration  of  the  Temple  under  Ezechias  (II  Paral.  xxix.  14).  Note 
that  the  Hemanites  are  descendants  of  Korach  (Core).  After  the 
Exile  the  music  of  the  Temple  was,  it  would  seem,  altogether  in  the 
hands  of  the  Asaphites.  Eleven  of  the  psalms  are  associated  with 
the  Sons  of  Core  (the  Korachites),  and  it  is  to  be  noted  that,  in  the 
Vulgate,  the  first  eight  psalms  of  the  second  Book  are  Korachite. 
II  Paral.  xx.  19  represents  the  Korachite  singers  as  taking  part 
in  a  celebration  of  victory  durnig  the  reign  of  Josaphat. 

2.  Ad  fontes  :  the  expression  desiderare  ad  is  strange.  The  Hebrew 
has  :  ‘  As  the  stag  (or  hind,  since  the  verb  is  feminine)  cries  out  by 
the  water-brooks.’  The  hind  has  come  seeking  water  in  a  familiar 
brook,  but  the  brook  is  dried  up,  and  the  hind,  standing  by  the  dried- 
up  bed  of  the  stream,  cries  out  for  disappointment.  The  Hebrew 
verb  (arag  ( desiderat )  is  usually  translated  '  pant/  but  in  Joel  i.  20 
it  is  used  in  parallelism  with  kara'  (=  cry  aloud,  call).  The  psalmist, 
far  from  the  Temple-worship,  misses  God  as  sorely  as  the  disappointed 
hind  misses  the  water  of  the  wady.  With  the  spirit  of  this  psalm 
should  be  compared  that  of  Ps.  lxxxiii. 

3.  He  longs  to  stand  once  more  in  the  Temple.  To  ‘  appear 
before  God’s  face/  was  to  visit  God  in  His  Sanctuary. 

4.  The  psalmist  seems  to  be  forgotten,  as  it  were,  by  God  :  hence 
this  mocking  query  of  his  foes. 


152 


THE  PSALMS 


5.  He  thmks  of  the  journeys  to  the  Temple  in  the  past,  and  the 
recollection  filis  him  with  tenderness. 

In  me  is  the  Hebrew  ‘alai :  it  need  not  be  translated.  It  goes 
with  animam  (not  with  effudi) — ‘  the  soul  entrusted  to  me.’ 

Quoniam  transibo ,  etc.  :  he  thinks  how  he  used  to  go  up  with 
the  pilgrim  throngs  to  the  festi vals  in  Jemsalem.  The  Hebrew  is 
more  vivid  than  the  Latin  :  ‘  How  I  used  to  move  forward  with  the 
throng,  advancing  slowly  step  by  step  to  the  House  of  God,  midst 
jubilee  and  praise — a  festive  multitude/  The  psalmist  moves  slowly 
through,  and  with,  a  throng  that  presses  on  every  side.  The  throng 
is  that  of  pilgrims  moving  towards  the  Temple. 

Epulantis,  ‘  of  the  festive  throng/ 

6.  Though  he  is  far  from  Jerusalem,  the  time  will  surely  come 
when  he  can  praise  God  once  more  in  the  Temple,  and  invoke  Him 
there  as  his  Helper  and  his  God.  When  he  stands  again  before  the 
face  of  Yahweh  in  Jerusalem,  he  will  know  for  certain  that  God  is 
stili  his  God,  his  helping  God,  his  Saviour. 

Salutare  vultus  mei  =  salutare  meum. 

7.  Ad  meipsum  .  .  .  conturbata,  ‘  troubled  within  me *  *  (or  simply, 
*  troubled/  disregarding  ad  meipsum  =  ‘alai,  cf.  verse  5). 

Propterea,  ‘  in  such  circumstances  ’ ;  in  this  trouble  of  soul  he 
thinks  on  the  Lord. 

Hermoniim  is  the  Hebrew  plural  of  Hermon.  It  is  due  to  a  ditto- 
graphy  in  the  Hebrew  text.  Read,  Hermon. 

A  monte  modico  represents  the  Hebrew,  ‘  from  the  mountain 
Mis‘ar/  1  Mis‘ar  has  been  identified  with  a  district  now  known  as 
Seora,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Caesarea  Philippi,  and  close  to  the 
place  where  the  Jordan  rises.  Possibly  this  is  why  the  poet  refers 
to  the  ‘  land  of  the  Jordan/  It  has  been  conjectured  that  the  psalm 
may  ha  ve  been  composed  in  the  Hermon  district.  Here,  near  its 
rise,  the  Jordan  rushes  down  through  a  series  of  cataracts  which, 
perhaps,  suggested  the  imagery  of  verse  8. 

8.  The  Jordan,  like  other  rivers,  comes,  in  the  Hebrew  view, 
from  the  nether  ocean,  the  abyss  on  which  the  earth  floats,  and  calls 
to  the  upper  ocean  (the  waters  above  the  firmament)  by  the  crashing 
of  its  cataractal  course. 

The  second  part  of  the  verse  may  be  hypothetical :  *  I  would 
think  of  Tbee,  even  did  a  whole  ocean  of  wretchedness  flow  over  me/ 

9.  Mandavit :  sends  forth  as  a  messenger.  The  kindness 


1  It  has  been  proposed  to  omit  the  preposition,  and  to  read,  in  the  vocative  : 

*  O  thou  tiny  mountain  !  ’  as  if  there  were  here,  as  in  Ps.  lxvii.  17,  a  comparison 
between  Sion  and  the  greater  mountains  on  the  borders  of  Palestine  The 
Hebrew  would  read  in  this  view  :  ‘  I  think  of  thee,  from  the  Jordan-land,  and 

from  Hermon  ;  thou  tiny  mountain  !  ’ 


LONGING  FOR  GOD 


153 

(graciousness)  of  God  is  here  thought  of  as  an  an  gei,  or  messenger, 
sent  by  God  to  protect  the  psalmist.  C/.  Ps.  xlii.  3. 

Apud  me  is  to  be  read  with  Canticum  ejus  :  oratio  is  an  apposition 
to  Canticum. 

10,  11.  Are  these  the  words  of  his  song  in  the  night  ?  We  ha  ve 
here  again,  very  plainly,  the  familiar,  naive  idea  that  the  humiliation 
of  His  worshippers  is  also  a  humiliation  for  the  Lord.  The  Lord, 
however,  cannot  submit  to  humiliation  :  hence  the  psalmist  raises 
again  his  comforting  refrain  (verse  12). 

In  verse  10  the  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  I  will  say  unto  God,  my  Rock/ 
Inimici  mei  of  verse  11  is  omitted  in  Hebrew,  in  the  Vatican  Codex, 
and  in  the  older  Latin  Psalteries. 


PSALM  XLII 


LONGING  FOR  GOD 


THE  situation  of  the  poet  here  is  the  same  as  in  Ps.  xli.  The 
petition  in  verse  3  is  very  natural  as  a  final  section,  apart 
from  the  refrain.  Though  troubled  so  greatly  by  the  mockers 
who  surround  him,  the  psalmist  is  confident  that  he  will 
once  again  appear  before  his  God  in  Jerusalem.  The  messengers  of 
the  Lord,  His  Light  and  His  Tnith,  will  come  to  guide  him  to  the 
Hili  where  God  dwells,  that  he  may  share  again  with  the  same  holy 
ardour  and  joy  with  which  he  joined  in  the  sacred  ceremonial  in  his 
youth,  in  the  worship  of  the  Temple.  The  refrain  makes  the  con- 
nection  of  xli  and  xlii  certain. 

The  title  “  A  psalm  of  David,”  is  wanting  in  the  Hebrew.  It 
may  have  been  suggested  to  an  early  critic  by  the  reference  to  the 
Tabernacle  in  verse  3.  There  is  no  good  reason  for  regarding  Ps.  xlii 
as  other  than  the  concluding  portion  of  Ps.  xli. 


1.  Psalmus  David. 


1.  [A  psalm  of  David.] 


Judica  me  Deus,  et  discerne 
causam  meam  de  gente  non 
sancta,  ab  homine  iniquo,  et 
doloso  erue  me. 

2.  Quia  tu  es  Deus  fortitudo  2. 
mea  :  quare  me  repulisti  ?  et 
quare  tristis  incedo,  dum  affligit 
me  inimicus  ? 


Give  judgment  for  me,  O  God,  and  decide 
my  cause 

Against  an  unholy  people  ! 

Rescue  me  from  the  godless  and  treacher- 
ous. 

For  Thou  art  my  strength  ! 

Why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me  ? 

And  why  must  I  go  about  in  sadness, 
Humiliated  by  my  enemy  ? 


3.  Emitte  lucem  tuam  et  veri-  3 
tatem  tuam  :  ipsa  me  deduxe¬ 
runt,  et  adduxerunt  in  montem 
sanctum  tuum,  et  in  tabernacula 
tua. 

4.  Et  introibo  ad  altare  Dei :  4 

ad  Deum,  qui  laetificat  juventu¬ 
tem  meam. 

Confitebor  tibi  in  cithara 
Deus  Deus  meus  : 


O  send  forth  Thy  Light  and  Thy  Truth, 
That  they  may  lead  me. 

And  guide  me  to  Thy  holy  mountain. 
And  to  Thy  Tabernacle  ! 

That  I  may  go  in  to  the  altar  of  God — 
To  the  God  who  was  the  joy  of  my  youth, 
That  I  may  praise  Thee  with  the  harp, 

O  God,  my  God  ! 


5.  Quare  tristis  es  anima 
mea  ?  et  quare  conturbas  me  ? 

Spera  in  Deo,  quoniam  adhuc 
•confitebor  illi :  salutare  vultus 
mei,  et  Deus  meus. 


5.  My  soul,  why  art  thou  sad,  and  why 
troublest  thou  me  ? 

Put  thy  trust  in  the  Lord,  for  even  yet  I 
shall  praise  Him  [thus]  : 

“  My  Rescuer  and  my  God  !  ” 


154 


LONGING  FOR  GOD 


iS5 


3.  Light  and  Truth  (=Fidelity)  appear  like  ministering  spirits 
sent  by  the  Lord — like  the  messengers  of  Ps.  xc.  11.  Tabernacula= 
the  whole  complex  of  God’s  dwelling-house  on  Zion. 

4.  Introibo ,  ‘  that  I  may  enter/ 

Qui  laetificat  juventutem  meam — *  who  gladdened  my  youth/  If 
the  poet  was,  as  is  possible,  a  priest,  the  reference  is  to  the  enthusi- 
astic  joy  of  his  first  priestly  ministrations.  When  he  comes  again  to 
the  Temple,  the  early  enthusiasm  may  be  felt  once  more. 

5.  The  refrain  obviously  marks  the  connection  of  Ps.  xli  and  xlii. 
The  whole  poem  (xli-xlii)  very  naturally  ends  here.  The  Light  and 
Truth  of  God,  as  ministering  ang°L,  are  thought  of  as  leading  in  the 
psalmist  to  the  altar  of  God,  and  thus  putting  an  end  to  ali  his  grief 
and  disquiet  of  spirit.  This  prospect,  realised  so  vividly  by  the 
home-sick  poet,  inevitably  suggests  the  consoling  refrain  of  Ps.  xli. 
6,  12.* 


PSALM  XLIII 


AWAKE,  O  GOD  OF  ISRAEL 


THIS  is  a  national  poem  composed  at  a  time  when  the  Hebrews 
had  been  defeated  in  battle,  and  were  somehow  enslaved 
politically  by  their  foes.  For  the  psalmist  the  shame  of 
his  nation  is  unworthy  of  its  glorious  history  ;  and  unworthy, 
too,  of  the  God  who  fought  its  victorious  battles  long  ago.  It  was 
Gods  power,  and  not  the  strength  of  IsraeFs  arm,  that  vanquished 
the  heathen  peoples  of  Palestine  in  the  time  of  the  Conquest .•  Has 
He  forgotten  the  people  He  used  to  love  ?  Even  now  the  psalmist 
will  trust  in  the  help  of  the  Lord — even  now,  when  Israel,  that  cmshed 
the  heathen  in  the  great  days  of  old,  is  in  bondage  to  the  heathens  of 
the  present  :  and  with  bittemess,  the  singer  adds  :  *  It  is  the  Lord 
who  has  sold  us  into  bondage,  and  poor  is  the  price  He  has  received/ 
Yet  why  has  the  Lord  abandoned  us  ?  We  ha  ve  not  turned  aside 
from  His  Covenant,  nor  chosen  other  gods.  It  is  indeed  for  the  very 
name  and  sake  of  the  Lord  that  Israel  has  been  brought  to  defeat 
and  disgrace.  '  Arise,  then,  O  Lord/  pleads  the  psalmist  passionately  ; 
*  awake  from  this  sleep  of  forgetfulness.  Thine  own  honour  is  at 
stake.  Turn  Thy  face  on  us,  for  we  are  humbled  to  the  dust  !  * 

An  ancient  theory  assigned  this  psalm  to  the  Maccabean  period, 
and  this  is  the  theory  now  most  widely  accepted.  The  poem  em- 
phasises  the  absence  of  all  idolatry  from  among  the  people,  and 
describes  the  sufferings  of  the  nation  as  a  veritable  martyrdom — as 
endured  for  the  sake  of  the  Lord  and  His  covenant. 


i.  In  finem,  filiis  core  ad  in-  i. 
tellectum. 


2.  Deus  auribus  nostris  audi-  2. 
vimus  :  patres  nostri  annuntia¬ 
verunt  nobis. 

Opus,  quod  operatus  es  in 
diebus  eorum,  et  in  diebus  anti¬ 
quis. 

3.  Manus  tua  Gentes  disper-  3. 
didit,  et  plantasti  eos  :  afflixisti 
populos,  et  expulisti  eos. 

4.  Nec  enim  in  gladio  suo  4. 
possederunt  terram,  et  brachium 
eorum  non  salvavit  eos  : 

Sed  dextera  tua,  et  brachium 
tuum,  et  illuminatio  vultus  tui  : 
quoniam  complacuisti  in  eis. 


For  the  choir-leader  of  the  Korachites. 
A  Maskil. 


O  God,  we  have  heard  with  our  own  ears„ 
Our  fathers  have  told  us, 

What  Thou  didst  in  their  time, 

In  the  days  of  old  ! 


Thy  hand  drave  forth  the  heathens,  and 
established  them  ; 

Nations  Thou  didst  smite  and  expel. 

For  not  by  their  sword  did  they  conquer 
the  land  ; 

And  their  own  arm  did  not  save  them, 

But  Thy  right  hand,  and  Thy  arm,  and 
the  light  of  Thy  face  ; 

Because  Thou  hadst  pleasure  in  them. 

56 


AWAKE,  O  GOD  OF  ISRAEL 


157 


5.  Tu  es  ipse  Rex  meus  et  5. 
Deus  meus  :  qui  mandas  salutes 
Jacob. 

6.  In  te  inimicos  nostros  6. 
ventilabimus  cornu,  et  in  no¬ 
mine  tuo  spernemus  insurgentes 

in  nobis. 

7.  Non  enim  in  arcu  meo  7. 
sperabo  :  et  gladius  meus  non 
salvabit  me. 

8.  Salvasti  enim  nos  de  afHi-  8. 
gentibus  nos  :  et  odientes  nos 
confudisti. 

9.  In  Deo  laudabimur  tota  9. 

die  :  et  in  nomine  tuo  confite¬ 
bimur  in  saeculum. 

10.  Nunc  autem  repulisti  et  10. 
confudisti  nos  :  et  non  egredieris 
Deus  in  virtutibus  nostris. 

11.  Avertisti  nos  retrorsum  11. 

post  inimicos  nostros  :  et  qui 
oderunt  nos,  diripiebant  sibi. 

12.  Dedisti  nos  tamquam  oves  12. 
escarum  :  et  in  Gentibus  disper¬ 
sisti  nos. 

13.  Vendidisti  populum  tuum  13. 
sine  pretio  :  et  non  fuit  multi¬ 
tudo  in  commutationibus  eorum. 

14.  Posuisti  nos  opprobrium  14. 
vicinis  nostris,  subsannationem 

et  derisum  his,  qui  sunt  in  cir¬ 
cuitu  nostro. 

15.  Posuisti  nos  in  similitu-  15. 
dinem  Gentibus :  commotio¬ 
nem  capitis  in  populis. 

16.  Tota  die  verecundia  mea  16. 
contra  me  est,  et  confusio  faciei 
meae  cooperuit  me. 

17.  A  voce  exprobrantis,  et  17. 
obloquentis :  a  facie  inimici, 

et  persequentis. 


18.  Haec  omnia  venerunt  su-  18. 

per  nos,  nec  obliti  sumus  te  : 

et  inique  non  egimus  in  testa¬ 
mento  tuo. 

19.  Et  non  recessit  retro  cor  19. 
nostrum  :  et  declinasti  semitas 
nostras  a  via  tua  : 

20.  Quoniam  humiliasti  nos  20. 

in  loco  afflictionis,  et  cooperuit 

nos  umbra  mortis. 

21.  Si  obliti  sumus  nomen  21. 

Dei  nostri,  et  si  expandimus 

manus  nostras  ad  deum  alienum: 


Thou  art  my  King  and  my  God, 

Who  sendest  help  unto  Jacob  ! 

By  Thee  do  we  scatter  our  foes  ; 

And  in  Thy  Name  we  despise  those 
who  rise  up  against  us. 

For  I  trust  not  in  my  bow. 

And  my  sword  cannot  save  me. 

But  Thou  dost  save  us  from  our  op- 
pressors. 

And  dost  humble  them  that  hate  us. 
We  boast  in  the  Lord  at  ali  times  ; 

And  we  praise  Thy  name  forever  ! 


But  now  Thou  hast  cast  us  off,  and  dis- 
graced  us, 

And  goest  not  forth,  O  God,  with  our 
armies. 

Thou  makest  us  retreat  before  our 
enemies  ; 

And  they  who  hate  us  plunder  us  at 
will. 

Thou  hast  made  us  like  sheep  set  apart 
for  slaughter  ; 

And  among  the  heathen  Thou  dost 
scatter  us. 

Thou  hast  sold  Thy  people  for  a  mere 
trifle  ; 

And  in  their  sale  the  price  was  not  high. 

Thou  hast  made  us  the  laughing-stock  of 
our  neighbours — - 

A  theme  of  mockery  and  laughter  for 
those  round  about  us. 

Thou  hast  made  us  a  byword  among  the 
heathen  ; 

An  object  of  derision  among  the 
peoples. 

My  disgrace  is  before  me  all  the  day  long, 

And  the  shame  of  my  face  doth  cover 
me. 

At  the  voice  of  the  mocker  and  of  him 
that  revileth 

At  the  sight  of  the  foe  and  of  him  that 
seeketh  revenge. 


All  this  has  come  upon  us  and  yet  we  have 
not  forgotten  Thee  ; 

Nor  have  we  been  disloyal  to  Thy 
covenant. 

Our  heart  has  not  turned  aside  ; 

And  yet  Thou  turnest  away  our  paths 
from  Thee  ! 

For  Thou  humblest  us  in  the  place  of 
sorrow  ; 

And  the  shadow  of  death  o’ercasts  us. 

If  we  had  forgotten  the  name  of  our  God, 

And  had  raised  our  hands  to  a  god  who 
was  a  stranger, 


i58 


THE  PSALMS 


22.  Nonne  Deus  requiret  ista  ? 
ipse  enim  novit  abscondita  cor¬ 
dis. 

Quoniam  propter  te  mortifica¬ 
mur  tota  die  :  aestimati  sumus 
sicut  oves  occisionis. 


22.  Surely  God  would  have  avenged  it, 

For  He  knoweth  the  secrets  of  hearts  ? 
Nay,  rather,  it  is  for  Thy  sake  we  are 
murdered. 

And  looked  upon  as  sheep  to  be 
slaughtered. 


23.  Exsurge,  quare  obdormis 
Domine  ?  exsurge,  et  ne  re¬ 
pellas  in  finem. 

24.  Quare  faciem  tuam  aver¬ 
tis,  oblivisceris  inopiae  nostrae, 
et  tribulationis  nostrae  ? 

25.  Quoniam  humiliata  est  in 
pulvere  anima  nostra  :  conglu¬ 
tinatus  est  in  terra  venter  noster. 

26.  Exsurge  Domine,  adjuva 
nos  :  et  redime  nos  propter 
nomen  tuum. 


23.  Arise  !  Why  dost  Thou  slumber,  O  Lord  ? 

Arise  !  And  do  not  reject  us  for  ever  ! 

24.  Why  hidest  Thou  Thy  face  ; 

And  forgettest  our  woe  and  oppression? 

25.  For  our  soul  is  bowed  down  to  the  dust  ; 

And  our  belly  cleaveth  to  the  ground. 

26.  Arise,  O  Lord,  help  us, 

And  rescue  us  for  Thy  Name’s  sake  ! 


1.  For  sons  of  Core  (=Korach)  cf.  Ps.  xli.  1. 

2.  The  singer  has  heard  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan  through  oral 
tradition.  Cf.  the  command  in  Deut.  vi.  21/.  ;  Ex.  xiii.  8. 

3.  Eos,  the  fathers  ;  the  eos  following  expulisti  shonld,  in  virtue 
of  the  parallelism,  refer  to  the  same  individuals.  Instead  of  expulisti 
we  should  have  a  parallel  to  plantasti. 

4.  The  light  of  Gods  face  is  an  allusion  to  the  High  Priesfs  blessing 
in  Num.  vi.  24-26.  The  light  of  God’s  face  implies  the  favour  and 
help  of  the  Lord. 

5.  Mandas  salutes,  ‘  orderest  fulness  of  help  '  (victory). 

6.  Israel  is  like  the  bison  that  brings  low  its  foes  with  thrust 
and  toss  of  horn. 

Ventilare,  1  to  scatter  through  the  air/  The  Assyrian  verb  corre- 
sponding  to  the  Hebrew  nagah  (thrust  with  the  horn  “  )  means  to 
defeat  ones  foes. 

In  nomine  tuo — perhaps  “  Yahweh  !  ”  was  their  battle-cry.  Cf. 
Ps.  xvii.  3. 

8,  9.  They  stili  boast  of  the  help  which  the  Lord  used  to  give  them. 

10.  The  contrast  in  the  attitude  of  the  Lord.  In  the  old  days  He 
marched  at  the  head  of  their  armies.  Cf.  Ps.  xxiii. 

11.  Sibi,  at  their  own  good  pleasure. 

12.  Oves  escarum,  ‘  sheep  designed  for  slaughter ' ;  cf.  v.  22  ; 
Roms.  viii.  36. 

13.  Non  fuit  multitudo,  there  was  no  increase  of  wealth  for  Yahweh 
through  the  sale.  This  is  a  somewhat  bitter  sarcasm.  The  Lord  has 
to  share  in  the  disgrace  of  His  people.  The  selling  into  slavery  of 
prisoners  of  war  was  familiar  in  the  ancient  world. 

14.  The  “  neighbours  ”  were  the  hostile  peoples  on  the  frontiers 
of  Israel — such  as  the  Moabites  and  Edomites. 


AWAKE,  O  GOD  OF  ISRAEL  159 

15.  Israehs  wretchedness  has  become  proverbial ;  it  has  become 
an  object  of  head-shaking,  and  a  mashal. 

16.  The  sense  is  :  ‘  Shame  covers  my  face/  He  cannot  look 

men  in  the  face  for  shame  ;  he  blushes  for  shame  when  men  look  at 
him. 

17.  He  cannot  endure  the  words  of  blasphemy,  etc.,  nor  the  sight 
(a  facie)  of  the  hated  and  derisi  ve  foes. 

18.  This  is  a  bitter  reproach  against  the  Lord,  due  to  the  passion 
of  the  poet. 

19.  Declinasti  :  it  seems  necessary  to  insert  a  negative  here,  for 

the  positive,  translated  as  above,  gives  a  very  unusual  phrase.  The 
Hebrew  has  :  ‘  Nor  has  our  step  swerved  from  Thy  path  ’ — the 

negative  being  continued  from  the  preceding  clause. 

20.  In  loco  afflictionis — in  Hebrew  :  ‘  the  place  of  jackals/  i.e. 
a  place  abandoned  by  men,  a  desert.  Umbra  mortis  is  a  symbol  of 
misery  and  of  deadly  perii.  C/.  xxii.  4  ;  lxxxvii.  7  ;  cvi.  10,  14. 

21.  Expandere  manus ;  the  Jews  prayed  standing  with  arms 
outstretched,  and  palms  turned  upwards. 

22.  Mortificamur,  ‘murdered/  The  notion  of  dying  for  the  Law, 
or  for  the  sake  of  the  Lord,  begins  to  appear,  for  the  first  time,  strongly 
in  the  Maccabean  period.  Abscondita,  the  hidden  depths. 

23.  The  apparent  indifference  of  God  to  the  defeat  of  His  people 
is  ascribed  poetically  to  a  falling  asleep  of  the  Lord.  Out  of  this 
sleep  the  psalmist  would  wake  Him. 

25.  The  defeated  people  lie  on  the  earth,  as  it  were,  while  their 
enemies  march  over  them. 


PSALM  XLIV 


# 


A  ROYAL  WEDDING 

CONSIDERED  purely  as  a  wedding-song  the  poem  begins  with 
praise  of  the  personal  beauty  of  the  King,  his  prowess  as  a 
warrior,  and  his  justice.  From  verse  9  the  King  appears 
decked  out  as  a  bridegroom.  The  bride  is  led  to  him  amid 
strains  of  jubilating  music.  The  poet  then  turns  to  the  bride.  He 
gives  her  fatherly  advice  and  admires  her  beauty.  To  the  King  he 
wishes  a  sturdy  posterity,  and  foretells  the  undying  glory  of  the 
royal  house. 

When  we  look  closely  at  the  poem  we  find  that  the  royal  bride¬ 
groom  is  depicted  with  definitely  Messianic  traits.  The  Messias 
appears  in  the  prophets  at  times  as  a  warrior-hero  who  slays  the 
enemies  of  Israel  (Is.  xi.  4).  The  relation  of  God  to  Israel  appears 
in  Osee  a  >  a  marriage-bond  (the  same  idea,  but  more  deeply  and 
fully  worked  out  in  Ephes.  v.).  If  verses  7,  8  are  addressed  to  the 
King,  he  is  there  definitely  called  God,  and  the  qualities  of  his  rule 
are  there  described  as  if  that  rule  were  divine.  These  two  verses 
are  applied  by  Hebrews  (i.  8,  9)  directly  to  the  Messias.  If  the  psalm 
is  to  be  understood  Messianically,  the  bride  will  represent  the  Church 
of  the  Old  Testament  period,  which  the  Bridegroom,  Christ,  has 
brought  to  completion  and  perfection  by  His  union  with  it  in  the 
new  Dispensation.  The  companions  of  the  bride  will  be  the  various 
heathen  nations  which  have  come  into  the  Christian  Church.  This, 
the  allegorical  explana  tion,  has  always  been  the  most  popular  in  the 
Church.  Yet  it  is  obviously  difficult  to  carry  through  the  allegorical 
exegesis  completely.  The  people  who  bring  gifts  are  carefully  dis- 
tinguished  from  the  companions  of  the  bride.  How  explain  this 
distinction  ?  Again  why  should  the  Church  of  Israel  be  exhorted  to 
forget  her  father’s  house  ?  The  reference  to  a  sturdy  posterity  is 
also  difficult  to  fit  into  the  allegory.  Yet,  in  general,  allegories  tend 
to  pass  beyond  their  limits  into  fact  or  history,  and  we  should  not 
look  for  too  great  literary  perfection  here.  There  is  in  the  poem  itself 
abundant  justification  for  an  allegorical  exegesis.  No  actual  King 
of  Israel  and  no  actual  royal  bride  of  Israelite  king  could  have  fully 
answered  to  the  ideal  of  this  psalm.  Possibly  we  have  here  largely 
the  hypeiboles  of  a  flattering  court-poet  ;  and  possibly,  too,  some  of 
the  features  of  Messianic  imagery  sprang  originally  from  the  exuberance 
of  court-literature.  But  if  the  poet  was  really  no  more  than  a  court- 

160 


A  ROYAL  WEDDING  161 

poet,  a  poet  laureate,  and  wished  merely  to  exalt  his  royal  master, 
he  has  been  carried  beyond  himself  by  the  Spirit  and  has  been  made 
to  depict,  not  the  splendour  of  his  lord,  but  the  beauty  and  greatness 
of  the  true  King  of  Israel,  the  Messianic  Lord. 

It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  identify  the  king  whose  wedding  may 
have  been  the  occasion  for  this  poem.  It  must  have  been  composed 
at  a  time  when  Israelite  kings  stili  sat  securely  on  their  thrones 
(verses  7,  8). 


I.  In  finem  pro  iis  qui  com-  1. 
mutabuntur  filiis  Core,  ad  in¬ 
tellectum,  Canticum  pro  dilecto. 


2.  Eructavit  cor  meum  ver¬ 
bum  bonum  :  dico  ego  opera 
mea  Regi. 

Lingua  mea  calamus  scribae, 
velociter  scribentis. 


3.  Speciosus  forma  prae  filiis  3. 

hominum,  diffusa  est  gratia  in 
labiis  tuis  :  propterea  benedixit 

te  Deus  in  aeternum. 

4.  Accingere  gladio  tuo  super  4. 
femur  tuum,  potentissime, 

5.  Specie  tua  et  pulchritudine  5. 
tua  intende,  prospere  procede, 

et  regna. 

Propter  veritatem,  et  man¬ 
suetudinem,  et  justitiam  :  et 
deducet  te  mirabiliter  dextera 
tua. 

6.  Sagittae  tuae  acutae,  populi  6. 
sub  te  cadent,  in  corda  inimico¬ 
rum  Regis. 


7.  Sedes  tua  Deus  in  saeculum 
saeculi  :  virga  directionis  virga 
regni  tui. 

8.  Dilexisti  justitiam,  et  odi¬ 
sti  iniquitatem  :  propterea  unxit 
te  Deus  Deus  tuus  oleo  laetitiae 
prae  consortibus  tuis. 


9.  Myrrha,  et  gutta,  et  casia  9. 
a  vestimentis  tuis,  a  domibus 
eburneis  :  e  quibus  delectave¬ 
runt  te  filiae  regum  in  honore  tuo. 

10.  Astitit  regina  a  dextris  10. 
tuis  in  vestitu  deaurato  :  cir¬ 
cumdata  varietate. 


For  the  choir-leader  of  the  Korachites. 
According  to  .  .  .  .  A  Maskill ;  a 
love-song. 


Fair  in  form  art  Thou  beyond  the  sons 
of  men  ; 

Graciousness  has  been  poured  out  on 
thy  lips. 

Therefore  God  doth  bless  thee. 

Bind  the  sword  on  thy  hip,  most  mighty 
one, 

In  thy  beauty  and  splendour. 

Fare  forth,  speed  prosperously,  and  rule — 

For  the  cause  of  truth  and  clemency 
and  justice  ; 

And  wondrously  shall  thy  right  hand 
lead  thee. 

Thy  sharp  arrows  pierce  horne — while 
peoples  fall  before  thee — 

To  the  heart  of  the  King’s  foes. 


The  scent  of  myrrh  and  aloes  and  cassia 
is  in  thy  garments. 

And  in  the  houses  of  ivory, 

Out  of  which  the  daughters  of  kings 
rejoice  thee  (with  music)  in  thy 
dignity. 

At  thy  right  hand  stands  the  queen 
In  gold-worlced  garment,  clad  in  robes 
of  many  colours. 


2.  My  heart  overfloweth  with  a  goodly 
theme  ; 

I  recite  my  poem  of  the  King. 

My  tongue  is  like  the  pen  of  a  ready 
scribe. 


7.  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  established  for 

ever  ! 

A  just  sceptre  is  the  sceptre  of  Thy 
rule  ! 

8.  Thou  lovest  justice  and  hatest  injustice. 

Therefore  doth  God,  Thy  God,  anoint 
thee 

With  festive  oil  above  Thy  fellows. 


11 


162 


THE  PSALMS 


11.  Audi  filia,  et  vide,  et 
inclina  aurem  tuam  :  et  ob¬ 
liviscere  populum  tuum,  et 
domum  patris  tui. 

12.  Et  concupiscet  Rex  de¬ 
corem  tuum  :  quoniam  ipse  est 
Dominus  Deus  tuus,  et  adora¬ 
bunt  eum. 

13.  Et  filiae  Tyri  in  muneribus 
vultum  tuum  deprecabuntur  : 
omnes  divites  plebis. 

14.  Omnis  gloria  ejus  filiae 

Regis  ab  intus, 

15.  In  fimbriis  aureis  circu- 
mamicta  varietatibus. 

Adducentur  Regi  virgines  post 
eam  :  proximae  ejus  afferentur 
tibi. 

16.  Afferentur  in  laetitia  et  16. 

exsultatione  :  adducentur  in 
templum  Regis. 

17.  Pro  patribus  tuis  nati  17. 

sunt  tibi  filii  :  constitues  eos 
principes  super  omnem  terram. 

18.  Memores  erunt  nominis  18. 

tui  in  omni  generatione  et  gene¬ 
rationem. 

Propterea  populi  confitebun¬ 
tur  tibi  in  aeternum  :  et  in  saecu¬ 
lum  saeculi. 


11.  Hear,  O  daughter  ;  and  look,  and  bend 

down  thine  ear  ; 

And  forget  thy  people,  and  the  house 
of  thy  father  ! 

12.  And  should  the  King  long  for  thy  beauty, 

Since  he  is  the  Lord,  thy  God,  He  must 
be  revered. 

13.  And  the  maidens  of  Tyre  honour  thee 
with  gifts, 

And  so  do  the  rich  men  of  the  people. 

The  full  glory  of  the  king’s  daughter  is 
within  ; 

She  is  adorned  with  fringes  of  gold, 
Robed  in  garments  of  many  colours. 
The  maidens  in  her  train  are  led  to  the 
King  ; 

Her  companions  are  conducted  to  thee. 
They  are  led  along  midst  joy  and  gladness; 
They  are  brought  to  the  royal  palace. 


In  place  of  thy  fathers,  sons  will  be  given 
to  thee, 

Whom  thou  shalt  set  up  as  princes  over 
all  the  earth. 

Men  will  be  mindful  of  thy  name  from 
age  to  age. 

Therefore  will  the  peoples  praise  thee 
for  ever. 


14. 

15. 


1.  Pro  iis  qui  commutabuntur.  The  older  Psalteries  read  pro 
his  quae  commutabuntur.  It  seems  to  be  based  on  a  misreading  of 
the  Massoretic  ‘al  shoshannim,  ‘  to  the  tune  of  “The  Lilies."  ’  The 
Septuagint  translator  seems  to  ha  ve  read  ‘al  sheshshonim.  We 
ha  ve  the  same  phenomenon  in  lxviii.  1  and  lxxix.  1. 

Canticum  pro  dilecto — in  Hebrew,  ‘  Love-song/ 

2.  Eructavit ;  to  bubble  forth,  well  forth  :  the  Word  has  no  un- 
pleasant  suggestiveness  in  Biblical  language.  The  poet’s  heart  over- 
flows  with  his  theme  ;  he  is  swept  along  by  enthusiasm  ;  his  tongue 
is  like  the  stylus  of  a  well  trained  scribe. 

Dico,  ‘  I  recite/  Opera  =  7rdi?7/ia  =  poem. 

Regi  does  not  mean,  ‘  before  the  king  ’ — as  if  it  were  to  be  read 
with  dico  :  it  qualifies  opera,  ‘  a  royal  poem/ 

3.  Here  begins  the  royal  poem.  The  poet  may  have  intended  to 
describe  here  an  actual  king  ;  but  the  description  is  mcst  naturali y 
understocd  of  the  Messias.  The  king’s  beauty  is  more  than  human. 
The  ‘  grace  poured  out  on  his  lips  *  is  the  gracious  winning  smile, 
which  wreathes  his  lips.  Interpreted  of  Christ  it  might  also,  perhaps, 
be  understood  as  referring  to  Our  Lords  words  of  power.  The  beauty 


A  ROYAL  WEDDING  163 

is  itself  a  blessing  from  God,  and  by  it  man  will  know  that  the  king 
is  one  blessed  of  God  for  ever. 

4,  5.  A  glorious  king  must  appear  also  as  a  mighty  warrior.  The 
beauty  of  the  royal  warrior-dress  wrings  a  cry  of  admiration  from  the 
poet.  “  Oh,  for  thy  splendour,  and  majesty  !  Good  luck  !  Speed 
on  in  the  cause  of  truth  and  clemency(?)  and  justice  !  ” 

The  king  is  to  ‘  fare  cn  ’  on  his  war-horse  or  war-chariot.  His 
mission  is  to  defend  the  rights  of  the  humble. 

Propter,  ‘  for  the  sake  of/ 

6.  Populi  sub  te  cadent — to  be  taken  as  a  parenthesis. 

7.  If  Deus  is,  as  the  Hebrew  suggests,  a  vocative,  the  subject  of 
the  psalm  is  obviously  the  Messias,  and  a  Messias  who  is  God. 

8.  Oleo  laetitiae  :  Hebrew,  f  oil  of  power/  i. e.  the  consecration  oil 
of  kingship.  God  has  given  him  a  more  powerful  kingdcm  than 
other  kings  ha  ve  received. 

9.  10.  The  Vulgate  text  makes  the  different  perfumes  of  myrrh, 
aloes  and  cassia,  proceed  from  the  garments  of  the  king,  and  from 
the  ivory  palaces  (the  latter  being  probably  the  apartments  or  houses 
set  apart  for  the  queen  and  her  attendants).  The  Hebrew  is  not 
perfectly  ciear.  It  is  usually  rendered  :  “  Myrrh,  aloes  and  cassia 
are  thy  garments  ’  (i. e.  the  garments  smell  so  of  these  perfumes,  as 
to  seem  to  consist  of  them)  :  ‘  out  of  ivory  palaces  there  gladdeneth 
thee  music  of  strings/  The  difference  of  Hebrew  and  Greek  (which 
Vulgate  follows)  is  due  mainly  to  the  uncertainty  of  the  Hebrew  word 
minni.  The  Greek  translators  have  taken  it  as  a  variant  of  the  pre- 
position  min  and  rendered  l g  wv  (Vulgate,  ex  quibus).  The  ordinary 
Hebrew  exegesis  takes  minni  as=  minnim,  ‘  music  of  strings/1  It 
has  been  suggested  that  the  word  should  be  omitted.  We  should 
then  have  :  a  domibus  eburneis  delectaverunt  te  filiae  regum,  ‘  from 
out  of  ivory  palaces  daughters  of  kings  (i. e.  attendants  of  the  bride) 
delight  thee/ 

In  honore  tuo.  Hebrew,  bikkerothekha.  Possibly  we  should  read 
bikerothekha,  ‘  when  thou  dost  approach/ 

In  vestitu  deaurato  :  Hebrew,  ‘  in  gold  of  ophir/  Circumdata 
varietate  is  not  represented  in  Hebrew  here.  It  has  probably  crept 
in  here  from  verse  15,  circumamicta  varietatibus . 

11.  The  poet’s  address  to  the  bride.  She  will  have  to  give  ali 
her  thought  to  her  lord  the  king. 

12.  Concupiscet  is  probably  best  taken  as  in  translation.  Et 
adorabunt  is  equivalent  to  ‘  men  must  revere  him/  or,  ‘  his  wish  must 
be  honoured/ 

13.  The  ‘  daughters  of  Tyre  *  may  be  the  inhabitants  of  Tyre, 


1  Reading  in  Hebrew,  min  kele  shen,  instead  of  min  hekhle  shen,  and  minnim 
instead  of  minni,  we  should  get  the  suitable  sense  :  ‘  From  harps  of  ivory  music; 

of  strings  delights  thee.’ 


164 


THE  PSALMS 


and  the  divites  plebis  could  then  be  taken  as  parallel — the  rich  ones 
of  Tyre.  The  implication  would  be  that  Tyre  was  the  home  of  the 
royal  bride. 

14.  This  verse  is  obscure.  Ejus  is,  perhaps,  a  sort  of  article  to 
be  taken  as  determining  filiae.  The  usual  translation  is  :  ‘  the  chief 
glory  of  the  kings  daughter  (i.e.  of  the  queenly  bride)  is  within  (in 
her  soul,  or  disposition)/  This  assumes  a  very  unlikely  sense  for 
ab  intus.  The  poet  is  here  describing  the  splendour  and  dignity  of 
the  Queen  s  appearance  and  not  her  character  or  disposition.  Ab 
intus  corresponds  to  Hebrew  penimah,  which  seems  to  refer  to  the 
interior  of  a  house.  But  as  yet  the  royal  bride  has  not  been  led  to 
her  house  or  to  the  Kings  apartments.  Possibly  penimah  ought  to 
be  emended  into  peninimy  ‘  pearls/  Then,  with  a  slight  emendation 
of  the  next  Hebrew  word  into  nfskubbasoth,  we  should  get  the  sense  : 

‘  All  glorious  is  the  kings  daughter,  pearls  set  in  gold  are  her 
garment  ;  with  gold  is  she  clad  !  ’  This  would  be  a  cry  of  delight  at 
the  splendour  of  the  Queen  as  she  moves  forward  at  the  head  of 
the  procession  of  her  attendants. 

Adducentur  ;  Hebrew  adducitur  ;  she,  the  Queen,  clad  in  robes 
of  many  colours,  is  led  to  the  King.  She  is  folio wed  by  her  train. 
Proximae,  friends,  companions.  The  tibi  must,  apparently,  refer  to 
the  King. 

17.  This  is  addressed  to  the  King.  No  King  of  Israel  could  hope 
to  make  his  sons  kings  over  all  the  earth.  Hence  the  presence  of 
more  than  the  merely  human  here.  The  reference  to  a  posterit y  is 
difhcult  to  explain  allego rically.  It  might  be  said,  perhaps,  that  the 
“  sons  ”  are  the  Apostles  and  their  successo rs,  while  the  fathers 
are  the  Jews.  The  Hebrew  means  :  ‘  In  thy  father  s  place  shall 
stand  forth  thy  sons/  i.e.  shall  equal  them  in  renown. 

h8.  In  the  Hebrew  the  poet  says  :  “  I  will  make  a  memorial  for 
thy  name  in  all  generations  to  come,  and  therefore  shall  all  peoples 
praise  thee.”  Thus  he  regards  his  song  as  a  monumentum  aere 
perennius. 


PSALM  XLV 


A  SURE  REFUGE  IS  THE  GOD  OF  ISRAEL! 


THIS  is  one  of  the  most  striking  documents  of  Israelite  trust 
in  God.  Enemies  may  bring  armies  against  Jerusalem,  the 
city  of  God,  but  they  will  ever  be  destroyed  as  they  have 
always  been  destroyed.  The  Lord  dwells  in  His  Sanctnary 
and,  therefore,  it  is  inviolable.  The  latest  enemy  attack  on  Jerusalem 
the  Lord  has  completely  frustrated  :  He  has  re-established  peace 
in  the  land,  and  destroyed  ali  the  weapons  of  war. 

The  presence  of  the  refrain  in  verses  8, 12,  and  its  probable  presence 
following  verse  4,  suggests  that  the  psalm  was  meant  to  be  sung 
antiphonally.  The  general  body  of  worshippers  sings  the  refrain, 
while  the  choir  of  special  singers  chants  the  remainder. 

The  Central  idea  of  the  psalm — that  Jerusalem  is  inviolable,  as 
being  the  special  Sanctuary  of  God,  is  also  the  dominant  idea  in  the 
policy  of  Isaias  at  the  time  of  the  Syro-Ephraimite  war  (735-734  b.c., 
cf.  Isaias  vii.  1/.  ;  IV  Kings  xvi.).  The  prophefs  proud  confidence 
in  the  protecting  love  and  power  of  Immanuel  is  echoed  here.  Pro- 
bably,  therefore,  it  is  not  rash  to  assume  with  several  authorities, 
that  this  psalm  has  arisen  out  of  the  defeat  of  the  Kings  of  Israel  and 
Aram,  when  they  advanced  against  Jerusalem.  Another  possibility, 
stili  more  widely  accepted,  is  that  the  poem  commemorates  the  failure 
of  Sanheribs  attack  on  the  Holy  City  (701  b.c.).  The  psalm  seems 
to  be,  at  all  events,  very  close  in  time  to  the  so-called  “  Immanuel 
period  ”  of  Isaias  (Vid.  Isaias  vii-xi).  The  thrice (? )  repeated  *  Yah- 
weh  of  Hosts  is  with  us  ’  reminds  one  inevitably  of  the  name  which 
Isaias  gives  to  the  Messias,  *  Immanuel/  '  ’El  (God)  is  with  us  ’  (Is.  vii. 
14,  and,  particularly,  Is.  viii.  8). 

1.  In  finem,  filiis  Core  pro  1.  For  the  Choir-leader  of  the  Korachites.  .  . 
arcanis.  Psalmus.  A  psalm. 


2.  Deus  noster  refugium,  et  2. 

virtus  :  adjutor  in  tribulationi¬ 
bus,  quae  invenerunt  nos  nimis. 

3.  Propterea  non  timebimus  3. 

dum  turbabitur  terra  :  et  trans¬ 
ferentur  montes  in  cor  maris. 


(Choir) 

Our  God  is  a  refuge  and  a  source  of 
strength  ; 

A  Helper  in  the  sorrows  which  touch 
us  so  sorely. 

Hence  we  feel  no  fear  even  when  trem- 
bleth  the  earth, 

And  mountains  sink  in  the  midst  of 


1 66 


THE  PSALMS 


4.  Sonuerunt,  et  turbatae  sunt  4.  When  its  waters  thunder  and  toss, 
aquae  eorum  :  conturbati  sunt  And  the  mountains  tremble  at  its 

montes  in  fortitudine  ejus.  might. 


(The  people) 

(The  Lord  of  Hosts  is  with  us  ; 

Our  Protector  is  the  God  of  Jacob  !) 


5.  Fluminis  impetus  laetificat 
civitatem  Dei  :  sanctificavit  ta¬ 
bernaculum  suum  Altissimus. 

6.  Deus  in  medio  ejus,  non 
commovebitur  :  adjuvabit  eam 
Deus  mane  diluculo. 

7.  Conturbatae  sunt  Gentes, 
et  inclinata  sunt  regna  :  dedit 
vocem  suam,  mota  est  terra. 


(Choir) 

5.  The  swiftly  flowing  stream  rejoiceth  the 

City  of  God. 

The  Most  High  hath  made  inviolable 
His  Sanctuary. 

6.  God  is  in  its  midst ;  it  shall  not  be  dis- 

turbed  ; 

God  protecteth  it  at  earliest  dawn. 

7.  Nations  are  dismayed,  and  kingdoms 

totter  ; 

When  the  Most  High  maketh  His  voice 
to  resound, 

The  earth  quaketh. 


(People) 

8.  Dominus  virtutum  nobis-  8.  The  Lord  of  Hosts  is  with  us  : 
cum:  susceptor  noster  Deus  Our  Protector  is  the  God  of  Jacob; 

Jacob. 


9.  Venite,  et  videte  opera 
Domini,  quae  posuit  prodigia 
super  terram  : 

10.  Auferens  bella  usque  ad 
finem  terrae. 

Arcum  conteret,  et  confringet 
arma  :  et  scuta  comburet  igni. 

11.  Vacate,  et  videte  quoniam 
ego  sum  Deus :  exaltabor  in 
Gentibus,  et  exaltabor  in  terra. 


(Choir) 

9.  Come  and  behold  the  works  of  the  Lord  ! 
What  wonders  He  doth  upon  earth  ! 

10.  Wars  He  maketh  to  cease  throughout  the 

world  ; 

He  breaketh  the  bow,  and  shattereth 
weapons, 

And  shields  He  burneth  with  fire. 

11.  Be  at  peace,  and  see  that  I  am  God. 

I  triumph  over  nations  ;  I  triumph 
over  the  world. 


(People) 

12.  Dominus  virtutum  nobis-  12.  The  Lord  of  Hosts  is  with  us  ; 
cum  :  susceptor  noster  Deus  Our  Protector  is  the  God  of  Jacob. 

Jacob. 


2.  The  name  of  the  melody  to  which  the  psalm  was  to  be  sung 
is  obscure  even  in  the  Hebrew  text. 

Quae  invenerunt  qualifies  the  Lord  in  the  Massoretic  text — “  A 
Helper  who  is  found  indeed  in  the  time  of  need.” 

3.  Cor  maris,  ‘  the  midst  of  the  sea/  Even  when  the  world  is 
shaken  to  its  foundations,  and  mighty  mountains  are  hurled  head- 
long  into  the  ocean,  the  faith  of  the  pious  Israelite  stands  undisturbed  : 
Si  fractus  illabatur  orbis,  impavidum  ferient  minee. 


A  SURE  REFUGE 


167 


4.  Aqua  eorum  :  the  antecedent  is  mare  :  hence  ejus  would  be 
better  in  place.  No  fury  of  ocean-storm  dismays  the  man  who  feels 
the  protecting  presence  of  the  Lord.  The  refrain  has  been  inserted 
here  by  several  recent  critics. 

5.  The  fluminis  impetus  is  not  the  wild  onset  of  an  enemy  attack 

on  the  City  of  God.  The  Hebrew  text  suggests  peace — the  Lord’s 
favour  :  ‘  A  stream — its  divisions  rejoice  the  city  of  God/  The 

stream  is  symbolic  of  God’s  mercy,  which  envelops  the  city  as  the 
dividing  arms  of  a  great  river  might.  The  may  be  an  echo  here  of 
the  '  gently  flowing  waters  of  Siloe  ’  in  Is.  viii.  6— a  further  indica tion 
of  the  connection  between  our  psalm  and  the  Immanuel — section  of 
Isaias.  The  parallelism  also  suggests  the  peaceful  sense  of  impetus 
fluminis  :  ‘  The  most  High  keepeth  inviolate  His  dwelling-place/ 

Note  that,  in  the  Hebrew,  the  ancient  narne  of  God,  as  associated 
with  Jerusalem,  ‘Elyon  (‘  Most  High  ’)  is  used.  C/.  Gen.  xiv  (Mel- 
chisedech  is  priest  of  ’El  ‘Elyon,  ‘  Gcd,  Most  High  ’). 

6.  It  is  the  living  presence  of  the  Lord  that  makes  Jerusalem 
inviolable. 

Mane  diluculo  :  Hebrew,  ‘  at  the  turn  of  the  dawn/  seems  to 
imply  that  the  coming  of  the  Lord’s  help  was  as  swift  and  sudden 
as  the  change  from  oriental  night  to  morning.  The  Latin  means 
*  at  earliest  dawn/  i.e.  not  waiting  for  day  (with  the  utmost  speed). 
Some  of  the  old  psalteries  read  adjuvabit  eam  vultu  (following  the 
Vatican  Septuagint). 

9.  One  can  stili  see  in  the  land  the  traces  of  the  Lord’s  vengeance 
on  the  foe.  He  who  runs  may  read.  The  prodigia  are  the  portents 
of  the  enemy ’s  complete  defeat. 

10.  So  completely  ha  ve  the  enemy  been  defeated  that  all  war  has 
ceased,  even  to  the  very  borders  of  the  land.  Apparently,  too, 
the  lands  on  the  borders  of  Palestine  are  also  freed  from  war.  In 
descriptions  of  the  Messianic  age  absence  of  war,  and  of  the  weapons 
of  war,  is  a  familiar  feature.  C/.  Is.  ii.  4  ;  xi.  9  ;  liv.  13  ;  Osee  ii.  18. 

Vacate.  This  is  God’s  waming  cry  to  the  nations  :  ‘  Be  at  peace  !  ' 
or  ‘  Desist  !  ’  (i.e.  from  your  design  of  destroying  My  people). 

Videte,  ‘understand/  ‘realise/  In  terra  probably  means  ‘in  all 
the  earth/ 


PSALM  XLVI 


HYMN  TO  THE  LORD  AS  KING  OF  THE 

WORLD 

THE  people  of  Israel  salute  the  Lord  as  their  King,  and  as  the 
King  of  the  world.  The  heathen  nations  are  called  on  to 
join  in  the  jubilee  with  which  the  accession  of  the  Great 
King  is  acclaimed.  For  the  psalmist,  therefore,  Yahweh  of 
Hosts  is  not  Lord  of  Israel  merely  (though  Israel  is  stili  His  special 
possession)  ;  He  is  King  of  all  lands  and  peoples.  The  spirit  of 
Messianic  universalism  breathes,  thus,  through  the  poem.  The 
series  of  Psalms  xcii-xcvix  is  also  associated  with  the  idea  of  God 
taking  anew  His  throne  as  King  over  Israel  and  the  world.  The 
popular  religious  mind  of  Israel  interpreted  national  defeat  as  a  sign 
that  the  Lord  was  no  longer  interested  in  His  people — was,  in  effect, 
no  longer  their  actual  King.  But  when  any  great  victory  was  won 
by  Israel,  or  the  national  hopes  and  ambitions  of  Israel  received 
encouragement,  then  it  was  felt  that  the  Lord  had  again  resumed 
His  rule  as  King  of  Israel.  Inasmuch,  moreover,  as  the  reality  of 
Yahweh’s  rule  over  Israel  was  shown  in  practice  by  the  defeat  of 
Israels  national  foes,  by  the  exercise  of  power,  therefore,  over  those 
who  were  not  of  the  House  of  Israel,  the  lordship  of  Yahweh  over 
Israel  came  to  be  associated  inevitably  with  the  idea  of  a  universal 
lordship  of  the  God  of  Israel. 

It  is  likely  that  the  occasion  of  this  poem  was  some  great  national 
victory.  But  it  is  not  possible  to  determine  the  exact  date  or  precise 
occasion  of  the  poem.1  It  must  be  said  in  regard  to  this  poem,  as 
was  said  in  regard  to  Ps.  xliv,  that  the  imagery  of  the  poem  goes 


1  This  psalm,  like  the  following,  has  been  often  associated  by  criticism 
with  the  defeat  of  Sanherib  (701  b.c.).  It  has  been  maintained  also  that  Psalms 
lxvii,  lxxv,  lxxxvi,  xcv-xcviii,  and,  possibly,  xcii,  were  composed  to  com¬ 
memorate  the  overthrow  of  the  Assyrians  on  that  occasion.  The  Ark  may 
have  been  taken  out  from  its  shrine  during  the  celebration  of  victory,  carried 
around  in  a  triumphal  procession,  and,  finallv,  borne  back  amidst  tumultuous 
rejoicing  to  its  resting  place  in  the  Temple.  The  return  of  the  Ark  to  its  shrine 
would  symbolise  the  return  of  Yahweh  to  His  throne  as  King  of  Israel.  The 
ceremonies  of  rejoicing  over  the  Assyrian  defeat  would,  in  the  circumstances, 
inevitably  resemble  the  ceremonies  of  the  coronation  of  Hebrew  kings  ;  and 
if,  as  is  not  improbable,  a  great  triumph  of  Israel  would  naturally  be  looked 
on  by  the  people  as  a  sort  of  prelude  to,  or  foretaste  of,  the  victories  of  the 
Messias,  we  should  expect  to  find  in  this  psalm  that  interweaving  of  the  historical 
and  the  ideal,  that  overshadowing  of  the  actual  King  (Ezechias)  and  his  victory 
by  the  Messianic  King  and  his  victories,  which  the  psalm  shows. 

For  the  carrying  of  the  Ark  in  a  procession  of  victory  compare  Psalm  xxiii. 

168 


HYMN  TO  THE  LORD 


169 


beyond  the  possibilities  of  any  known  historical  situation.  Here,  as 
there,  we  ha  ve  at  work  a  method  of  compositiori,  a  tradi  tion  of  literary 
creation,  which  was  intimately  associated  with  the  phenomena  of 
the  Messianic  outlook  in  ancient  Israel. 


1.  For  the  choir-leader  of  the  Korachites. 
A  psalm. 


1.  In  finem,  pro  filiis  Core 
Psalmus. 


2.  Omnes  Gentes  plaudite  ma-  2. 

nibus  :  jubilate  Deo  in  voce  ex¬ 
sultationis. 

3.  Quoniam  Dominus  excel-  3. 

sus,  terribilis :  Rex  magnus 
super  omnem  terram. 

4.  Subjecit  populos  nobis :  4. 

et  Gentes  sub  pedibus  nostris. 

5.  Elegit  nobis  haeredi tatem  5. 

suam  :  speciem  Jacob,  quam 
dilexit. 


6.  Ascendit  Deus  in  jubilo  :  6. 

et  Dominus  in  voce  tubae. 

7.  Psallite  Deo  nostro,  psal-  7. 
lite  :  psallite  Regi  nostro,  psal¬ 
lite. 

8.  Quoniam  Rex  omnis  terrae  8. 
Deus  :  psallite  sapienter. 

9.  Regnabit  Deus  super  9. 

Gentes  :  Deus  sedet  super  se¬ 
dem  sanctam  suam. 

10.  Principes  populoru  con-  10. 

gregati  sunt  cum  Deo  Abraham  : 
quoniam  dii  fortes  terrae  vehe¬ 
menter  elevati  sunt. 


All  ye  nations  clap  hands  ! 

Rejoice  unto  the  Lord  with  shouts  of 

i°y  ’• 

For  the  Lord,  the  Most  High,  is  fearful — • 
A  mighty  King  over  all  the  earth. 

He  hath  subdued  unto  us  peoples, 

And  nations  (hath  He  set)  beneath 
our  feet. 

He  hath  chosen  for  us,  as  an  inheritance 
from  Him, 

The  glory  of  Jacob  which  He  loveth  ! 

God  hath  gone  up  mid  jubilee, 

The  Lord,  amid  trumpet-clang. 

Sing  a  song  of  praise  to  our  God  :  sing 
a  song  of  praise  ; 

Sing  praise  to  our  King,  sing  praise, 
For  King  of  the  whole  land  is  God  ; 

Sing  a  maskil. 

God  hath  set  Himself  up  as  King  over 
the  nations  : 

God  hath  taken  His  seat  on  His  holy 
throne  ! 

The  nobles  of  the  nations  gather  together 
To  the  God  of  Abraham — 

What  a  splendid  honour 

For  the  great  ones  of  earth  ! 


2.  For  clapping  of  hands  at  accession  of  King,  cf.  IV  Kings  xi.  12  r 
The  “  shout  of  joy  ”  would  be  :  ‘  Long  live  the  King  ’  (cf.  IV  K.  xi. 
12  ;  Num.  xxiii.  21  ;  II  K.  xv.  10  ;  III  K.  i.  34,  ;  IV  K.  ix.  13). 

3.  Excelsus  is  probably  a  name  of  God  (‘Elyon),  rather  than  an 
attribute. 

4.  This  is  a  reference  primarily  to  the  Conquest  of  Canaan. 

5.  Species  Jacob  ;  in  Hebrew  :  ‘  the  pride  of  Jacob/  i. e.  the  land 
of  Palestine  of  which  Israel  would  reasonably  be  proud.  Quam , 
according  to  Hebrew  ought  to  be  quem  (i. e.  Jacob). 

6.  The  preceding  had  referred  to  the  remote  past  ;  the  psalmist 
now  thinks  of  the  recent  past.  The  ancient,  dread  God  of  Israel 
has  again  shown  His  tremendous  power.  ‘  God  has  gone  up/  i. e. 
God  has  again  ascended  His  throne  as  King  of  Israel. 


THE  PSALMS 


170 

8.  Psallite  sapienter  :  Jerome  translates  :  Canite  erudite.  It  has 
been  generally  explained,  ‘  sing  with  attention/  ‘  sing  with  intelli- 
gence/  i. e.  not  with  the  lips  merely,  but  with  the  mind  and  heart. 
The  Hebrew,  '  sing  a  maskil,’  refers  to  a  special  kind  of  poem.  The 
maskil  (Intellectus)  may,  as  we  ha  ve  seen,  be  any  kind  of  song  which 
celeb rates  God's  rule  in  the  world.  (C/.  Ps.  xli,  xliii,  xliv.)  Maskil 
may  also  mean  a  trained  or  skilled  individual.  If  we  suppose  that 
the  word  is  here  a  collective,  the  phrase  might  mean  (in  Hebrew)  : 
“  Sing  a  song  of  praise,  ye  trained  singers  !  ”  Jerome ’s  Canite  erudite 
suggests  some  such  view  as  this.  It  is  probably  better  to  take  maskil 
here  not  as  a  participle,  but  as  the  name  of  a  kind  of  poem. 

9.  Deus  regnavit  is  the  cry  of  victory  at  the  enthronement  of 
Yahweh.  The  nations  have  now  ali  recognised  the  kingship  of  Gnd. 

10.  The  princes  and  nobles  of  the  peoples  are  now  vassals  and 
servants  of  the  Lord  :  they  are  gathering  round  His  throne,  as  the 
people  of  the  God  of  Abraham.  Cum  (Hebrew  ‘im)  ought  to  be  pro¬ 
bably  populus  (Hebrew  ‘am).  The  dii  fortes  are  in  Hebrew  “  the 
shields  ”  :  they  are  obvio usly  the  same  as  the  principes  of  the  first 
half  of  the  verse.  The  designation  ‘  shield  *  has  reference,  perhaps, 
to  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  rulers  ;  cf.  Ps.  lxxxi.  It  is  a  great 
honour  to  them  to  be  included  among  the  subjects  of  the  Lord.1 
This  is  not  far  from  St.  Pauls  idea  of  the  “  children  of  the  promise.” 

For  the  sense  of  dii,  cf.  Ex.  xxi.  6  ;  xxii.  8,  9,  28  ;  Ps.  lxxxi.  1,  2. 


1  Perhaps,  instead  of  changing  ‘im  (cum)  into  ‘am  (populus),  we  ought  to 
assume  that  ‘am  was  omitted  after  ‘im  by  a  scribe  who  was  misled  by  the  identity 
of  the  consonants  in  the  two  words.  On  that  view  the  sense  would  be,  cum 
populo  Dei  Abraham.  The  Gentiles  would  not  become  one  people  absolutely 
with  the  Israelites,  but  they  would  become  one  with  them  in  their  worship  of 
Yahweh. 


PSALM  XLVII 


THE  CITY  OF  GOD.  A  SONG  FOR  PILGRIMS 

FROM  verse  io  we  see  that  the  multitude  stands  in  the  Court 
of  the  Temple.  In  verse  13  the  people  are  exhorted  to  go 
forth,  and  walk  round  Sion,  so  as  to  study  the  glorions  strength 
and  beauty  of  Jerusalem,  and  thus  be  able  to  describe  its 
greatness  to  their  childreiPs  children.  Possibly,  therefore,  this 
psalm  was  used  as  a  processional  hymn  at  the  beginning  of  one  of  the 
great  festivals  in  Jerusalem.  The  procession  going  forth  from  the 
temple  would  tra verse  the  streets  of  the  city,  and  return  again  to 
the  temple.  The  Jewish  pilgrims  who  ha  ve  come  from  distant 
homes,  have  heard  of  the  greatness  of  Jerusalem  :  now  they  see  it 
with  their  own  eyes.  The  psalm  would  be  thus  one  of  those  “  Hymns 
of  Sion  ”  mentioned  in  Ps.  cxxxvii.  3.  With  pride  the  singer  dwells 
on  the  inviolate  greatness  of  the  fortress  city.  No  invasion  has  ever 
made  it  fear  :  indeed,  hostile  kings  who  marched  against  it  were  cast 
into  dread  and  dismay  when  they  beheld  its  strength,  and  fled  in  fear, 
while  their  armies  were  broken  and  dispersed  like  the  great  merchant 
ships  which  a  storm  from  the  east  has  fallen  on,  and  shattered. 

It  is  possible  that  some  particular  attack  on  Jerusalem  is  referred 
to  in  verses  5-8.  Critics  favour  the  view  that  Sanheribs  campaign 
(701  b.c.)  is  in  the  psalmists  mind.  There  are  striking  points  of 
contact  in  the  poem  with  Isaias  xxxiii. 


1 .  A  psalm  of  the  Korachites ;  on  the 
second  day  after  the  sabbath. 


1.  Psalmus  Cantici  filiis  Core 
secunda  sabbati. 


2.  Magnus  Dominus,  et  lauda-  2. 

bilis  nimis  in  civitate  Dei  nostri, 

in  monte  sancto  ejus. 

3.  Fundatur  exsultatione  uni-  3. 

versae  terrae  mons  Sion,  latera 
Aquilonis,  civitas  Regis  magni. 

4.  Deus  in  domibus  ejus  co-  4. 
gnoscetur,  cum  suscipiet  eam. 

5.  Quoniam  ecce  reges  terrae 
congregati  sunt :  convenerunt 
in  unum. 

6.  Ipsi  videntes  sic  admirati 
sunt,  conturbati  sunt,  commoti 
sunt : 


Great  is  the  Lord,  and  greatly  to  be 
praised 

In  the  city  of  our  God, 

On  His  holy  mountain  ! 

Firmly  standeth  Mount  Sion,  to  the  joy 
of  ali  the  earth — 

The  northern  side,  the  city  of  the 
Mighty  King  ! 

God  showeth  Himself  in  its  dwellings. 
For  He  guardeth  it. 


5.  For  lo  !  the  kings  of  earth  assembled, 

came  together  ; 

6.  But  when  they  beheld  it,  they  were  dis- 

mayed  ;  they  were  disturbed  and 
confused. 


172 


THE  PSALMS 


7.  Tremor  apprehendit  eos.  7. 

Ibi  dolores  ut  parturientis. 

8.  In  spiritu  vehementi  con-  8. 

teres  naves  Tharsis. 


9.  Sicut  audivimus,  sic  vidi-  9. 
mus  in  civitate  Domini  virtu¬ 
tum,  in  civitate  Dei  nostri  : 

Deus  fundavit  eam  in  aeternum. 


10.  Suscepimus  Deus  miseri-  10. 
cordiam  tuam,  in  medio  templi 

tui. 

11.  Secundum  nomen  tuum  11. 

Deus,  sic  et  laus  tua  in  fines 
terrae  :  justitia  plena  est  dex¬ 
tera  tua. 

12.  Laetetur  mons  Sion,  et  12. 

exsultent  filiae  Judae,  propter 
judicia  tua  Domine. 


13.  Circumdate  Sion,  et  com-  13. 
plectimini  eam  :  narrate  in 
turribus  ejus. 

14.  Ponite  corda  vestra  in  14. 

virtute  ejus  :  et  distribuite  do¬ 
mos  ejus,  ut  enarretis  in  pro¬ 
genie  altera. 

15.  Ouoniam  hic  est  Deus,  15. 
Deus  noster  in  aeternum,  et  in 
saeculum  saeculi  :  ipse  reget  nos 

in  saecula. 


Fear  took  hold  of  them,  and,  then,  pains, 
like  those  of  a  woman  in  travail. 

By  a  mighty  storm  Thou  shatterest  ships 
of  Tarsis. 


As  we  did  hear,  so  now  we  see, 

In  the  city  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
In  the  city  of  Our  God. 

God  hath  established  it  forever  ! 


We  praise,  O  God,  Thy  loving-kindness 
In  Thy  temple  ! 

According  to  Thy  name,  so  let  Thy 
praise  be, 

Even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

With  justice  Thy  right  hand  is  filled. 
Let  Mount  Sion  rejoice, 

And  let  the  daughters  of  Juda  be  glad, 
Because  of  Thy  judgments,  O  Lord  ! 


Circle  Sion,  and  walk  round  about  it : 
Count  well  its  towers  ! 

Mark  well  its  strength  : 

Muster  its  dwellings, 

That  ye  may  be  able  to  teli  to  a  genera- 
tion  that  is  to  be, 

That  God  is  here, 

Our  God,  for  ever  and  ever  ! 

He  ruleth  us  for  ever. 


1.  Psalmus  cantici,  ‘  psalm/  '  Cf.  Ps.  xxix,  lxvi,  lxvii,  lxxiv, 
lxxxvi,  xci.  The  psalm  is  assigned  to  Monday  in  the  Greek. 

3.  Jerusalem  is  the  pride,  not  of  Israel  merely,  but  of  the  whole 
world.  The  Latin  text  should,  probably,  run  :  Mons  Sion,  latera 
aquilonis,  civitas  magni  regis  \est\ .  The  expression  latera  aquilonis  is 
variously  explained.  Possibly  we  should  distinguish  here  between 
Mons  Sion  as  the  Southern  portion  of  the  eastern  hili  of  Jerusalem 
on  which  stood  the  ‘  City  of  David/  and  the  latera  aquilonis  as  the 
northern  side  of  that  hili,  on  which  stood  the  Temple.  It  is  more 
usual,  however,  nowadays,  to  find  here  a  reference  to  an  an  cient 
mythological  notion  of  the  Orient,  according  to  which  the  dwelling- 
place  of  the  gods  was  a  mountain  in  the  uttermost  north  :  the  psalmist 
wishes  to  say  here  that  Sion  is  really  the  1  mountain  of  the  north/ 
the  actual  dwelling  of  God  {cf.  Isaias  xiv.  13  ;  Ezech.  xxviii.  13,  14) 
Latera  aquilonis,  ‘  extremest  north/ 

4.  The  presence  of  the  Lord  is  known  from  His  protection.  The 
verse  means  :  Cognitus  est  ut  susceptor. 


THE  CITY  OF  GOD 


5.  The  protecting  power  of  the  Lord  has  been  seen  in  the  swift 
discomfiture  of  the  foes  that  marched  against  Jerusalem.  The  *  kings  ' 
might  be  kings  in  coalition  like  those  of  Samaria  and  Damascus  in  the 
Synan-Ephraimite  attack  on  Jerusalem  (734  B.c.),  or  generals,  like 
those  of  Sanheribs  army. 

6.  The  foes  were  dismayed  because  they  saw  the  strength  of  the 
city,  and  realised  the  power  of  its  God. 

7.  Ibi  is  temporal. 

8.  Tarsis  ships  ;  i.  e.  ships  big  enough  to  trade  with  Tarshish 
(Tartessus)  in  Spain  ;  these  were  the  largest  merchantmen  of  ancient 
Jewish  history.  With  such  mighty  ships  the  enemy  are  compared. 
But  the  Lord  shattered  the  enemies  of  Jerusalem  as  the  storm  from 
the  east  (so  in  Hebrew  the  spiritus  vehemens)  destroys  the  greatest 
ships.  In  xxxiii.  21,  23  Isaias  describes  Assyrian  power  under  the 
Symbol  of  a  battle-ship. 

9.  The  pilgrims  ha  ve  often  heard  of  the  might  of  Jerusalem. 
Now  they  can  see  it  with  their  own  eyes.  The  Lord  hath  indeed 
established  it  for  everlasting  ! 

Verses  9  and  10  imply  clearly  that  this  psalm  was  intended  to  be 
sung  as  a  processional  song  by  Jewish  pilgrims  in  Jerusalem.  Since 
the  main  theme  of  the  song  is  the  greatness  and  strength  of  the  Holy 
City,  we  may  regard  it  as  one  of  the  ‘  Songs  of  Sion  ’  referred  to  in 
Ps.  cxxxvi.  3.  Other  such  ‘  Songs  of  Sion  *  are  Ps.  lxxxiii,  lxxxvi, 
cxxi. 

10.  Suscepimus  must  here  mean  ‘  accept/  *  take  to  ourselves,’ 
‘  recognise.’  The  people  stand  in  the  Temple  to  thank  the  Lord 
for  His  never-wearying  protection  of  His  city.  But  recently,  perhaps, 
ha  ve  the  waves  of  Sanherib’s  invasion  dashed  vainly  against  the 
mountain  fortress  of  Yahweh. 

11.  12.  The  name  of  the  God  of  Israel,  ‘  Yahweh  of  Hosts/  is 
known  far  and  wide.  When  the  pilgrims  return  to  their  far-off 
homes  they  will  teli  of  the  new  recent  glory  which  Yahweh  has 
added  to  His  name.  A  just  verdict  He  has  executed  against  the 
foes  of  His  city. 

The  ‘  daughters  of  Juda  ’  may,  perhaps,  be  the  country  towns  of 
Juda. 

13.  The  pilgrims  are  exhorted  to  study  for  themselves  the  might 
and  splendour  of  the  City.  They  are  to  fix  well  in  their  minds  the 
picture  of  a  city,  splendid  and  involate,  so  as  to  be  able  to  teli  their 
children  of  the  greatness  of  the  city  and  its  Lord. 

Complectimini,  ‘  take  in  by  encircling/  Narrate  :  in  Hebrew  we 
have  simply,  ‘  count  its  towers  ’  and  this  seems  to  be  the  sense  re- 
quired  in  the  context. 

14.  Ponere  cor,  *  attend/  ‘  mark  well.’ 

Distribuite  domos  corresponds  to  Hebrew  :  ‘  tra verse  its  palaces/ 
We  must  take  distribuite  in  the  sense,  *  measure  off/  or,  ‘  muster/ 


l7  4 


THE  PSALMS 


15.  Hic  can  be  taken  as  adverb  :  in  Hebrew  we  ha  ve  the  demon 
strative  pronoun  : 

Compare  with  verses  3,  9,  13-15,  Isaias  xxxiii.  2off.  (with  some 
emendations)  : 

‘  Look  on  Sion,  our  fortress-city  ! 

Thine  eyes  will  see  Jerusalem, 

As  a  dwelling  secure, 

As  a  tent  that  moves  not  from  place  to  place  ; 

Whose  stakes  shall  never  be  pulled  up, 

Whose  cords  shall  never  be  broken. 

For  there  shall  protect  us  the  river  of  Yahweh, 

A  source  of  wide-extending  streams, 

No  galley  with  oars  shall  fare  thereon. 

No  proud  ship  shall  sail  there. 

For  Yahweh  is  our  Judge  ; 

Yahweh  is  our  Ruler  ; 

Yahweh  is  our  King  ; 

He  will  save  us/ 

For  Isaias,  as  for  the  psalmist,  Jerusalem  is  inviolable  because  it 
is  the  dwelling-place  cf  God.  The  river  on  which  no  hostile  foreign 
galleys  may  ride,  is,  perhaps,  the  stream  of  Ps.  xlv,  whose  dividing 
arms  rejoice  the  City  of  God  (which  reminds  one  of  the  *  stream  that 
went  forth  from  Eden  to  water  the  garden,  and  then  divided  itself 
into  four  arms  '  (Gen.  ii.  10) — as  if  Jerusalem  were  a  sort  of 
replica  of  Paradise). 


PSALM  XLVIII 


WEALTH  AVAILS  NOT  THE  WICKED 


THE  psalmist  speaks  of  himself  as  giving,  in  poetical  language, 
the  solution  of  a  problem,  and  calls  on  all  men  to  listen  to 
his  words  of  wisdom.  The  problem  is  :  How  is  divine  rule 
of  the  world  to  be  reconciled  with  the  fact  that  the  just  are 
compelled  to  witness  the  continued  prosperity  of  the  godless  ?  The 
solution  is  :  That  prosperity  is  not  permanent.  Even  the  rich  and 
splendid  must  die.  The  glory  of  man  does  not  abide.  The  wealthiest 
can  no  more  escape  death  than  the  poorest  ;  in  this  he  is  no  better 
even  than  the  brute  beast.  There  is  no  ransom  that  will  redeem 
from  death  :  even  those  great  ones  who  conquer  huge  territories, 
and  call  them  by  their  own  names,  must  die.  The  wealth  and  honour 
of  the  great  go  not  with  them  to  the  underworld — that  land  of  gloom 
where  their  fathers  dwell,  and  where  no  light  shall  shine  on  them. 
In  verse  16  a  great  contrast  in  favour  of  the  just  is  made  (so  great  a 
contrast,  indeed,  that  the  verse  has  been  often  regarded  as  an  inter- 
polation).  The  idea  is  there  suggested  that  some,  at  all  events,  of 
the  just  do  not  die  ( cf .  Ps.  lxxii.  24),  or,  that  their  justice  is  rewarded 
in  another  state.  The  apparent  success  of  the  wicked  in  their  earthly 
life  will  be  thus  offset  by  the  permanent  happiness  of  the  just  in 
the  world  beyond  the  tomb. 

There  is  no  means  of  definitely  dating  the  psalm.  It  must  be  put 
along  with  Ps.  xxxvi  and  lxxii.  There  are  few  psalms  which  present 
so  many  difhculties  and  uncertainties  of  text  as  Ps.  xlviii. 


1.  In  finem,  filiis  Core  psalmus.  1.  For  the  choir-leader  of  the  Korachites.. 

A  psalm. 


2.  Audite  haec  omnes  Gentes  : 
auribus  percipite  omnes,  qui 
habitatis  orbem  : 

3.  Quique  terrigenae,  et  filii 
hominum:  simul  in  unum  dives 
et  pauper. 

4.  Os  meum  loquetur  sapien¬ 
tiam  :  et  meditatio  cordis  mei 
prudentiam. 

5.  Inclinabo  in  parabolam 
aurem  meam  :  aperiam  in  psal¬ 
terio  propositionem  meam. 

6.  Cur  timebo  in  die  mala  ? 
iniquitas  calcanei  mei  circum¬ 
dabit  me  : 


2.  Hear  this  all  ye  peoples  ! 

Note  it  well  all  ye  dwellers  of  earth  ! 

3.  Ye  sons  of  earth  and  children  of  men 

Rich  and  poor  ! 


4.  My  mouth  speaketh  wisdom  ; 

And  the  thought  of  my  heart  is 
prudence. 

5.  To  a  riddle  I  will  bend  my  ear  ; 

I  will  make  plain  my  solution  on  the 
harp. 


6.  Why  am  I  afraid  (?)  in  the  day  of  trouble, 
When  the  malice  of  my  treacherous 
foes  encompasseth  me, 


175 


THE  PSALMS 


176 


7.  Qui  confidunt  in  virtute  7. 

sua  :  et  in  multitudine  divitia¬ 
rum  suarum  gloriantur. 

8.  Frater  non  redimit,  red-  8. 

imet  homo  :  non  dabit  Deo 
placationem  suam. 

9.  Et  pretium  redemptionis  9. 

animae  suae :  et  laborabit  in 
aeternum. 

10.  Et  vivet  adhuc  in  finem.  10. 

11.  Non  videbit  interitum,  11. 

cum  viderit  sapientes  morientes  : 
simul  insipiens,  et  stultus  peri¬ 
bunt. 

Et  relinquent  alienis  divitias 
suas  : 

12.  Et  sepulchra  eorum  domus  1 2 . 

illorum  in  aeternum. 

Tabernacula  eorum  in  pro¬ 
genie,  et  progenie  :  vocaverunt 
nomina  sua  in  terris  suis. 


13.  Et  homo,  cum  in  honore  13. 
esset,  non  intellexit :  compara¬ 
tus  est  jumentis  insipientibus, 
et  similis  factus  est  illis. 


14.  Haec  via  illorum  scanda-  14. 
Ium  ipsis  :  et  postea  in  ore  suo 
complacebunt. 

15.  Sicut  oves  in  inferno  po-  15. 
siti  sunt  :  mors  depascet  eos. 

Et  dominabuntur  eorum  justi 
in  matutino  :  et  auxilium  eorum 
veterascet  in  inferno  a  gloria 
eorum. 


16.  Verumtamen  Deus  red-  16. 
imet  animam  meam  de  manu 
inferi,  cum  acceperit  me. 


17.  Ne  timueris,  cum  dives  17. 
factus  fuerit  homo :  et  cum 
multiplicata  fuerit  gloria  domus 
ejus. 

18.  Quoniam  cum  interierit,  18. 

non  sumet  omnia  :  neque  de¬ 
scendet  cum  eo  gloria  ejus. 

19.  Quia  anima  ejus  in  vita  19. 
ipsius  benedicetur  :  confitebitur 

tibi  cum  benefeceris  ei. 

20.  Introibit  usque  in  pro-  20. 

genies  patrum  suorum  :  et  usque 

in  aeternum  non  videbit  lumen. 

I 


Who  put  their  trust  in  their  wealth, 
And  boast  of  their  great  riches  ? 


No  man  can  buy  himself  off  ! 

No  man  can  buy  himself  off  ! 

None  can  give  a  bond  to  God, 

Nor  a  ransome  for  himself, 

Even  if  he  should  toil  always, 

To  live  for  e  ver. 

He  realiseth  not  death  when  he  sees  the 
wise  ones  die, 

The  fool  and  the  dolt  alike  perish  ; 
And  leave  their  riches  to  others  : 


And  their  graves  are  their  dwellings  for 
ever, 

Their  tents  for  eternity, — 

Even  though  they  gave  their  names  to 
whole  lands. 


For  a  man,  when  he  is  in  honour,  doth 
not  realise  it : 

He  resembleth  the  brute  beasts,  and  is 
made  like  unto  them. 


This  way  of  life  of  theirs  became  for  them 
a  stumbling-block. 

And,  after  them,  for  those  who  took 
pleasure  in  their  words, 

Like  sheep  they  are  cast  into  the  under- 
world  ; 

Death  sweepeth  them  away, 

And  soon  are  the  just  of  more  account 
than  they  ; 

And  all  help  for  them  vanisheth  in  the 
underworld, 

When  all  their  glory  is  gone, 

But  God  rescueth  me 

From  the  power  of  the  underworld, 
When  it  seizeth  me. 


Trouble  not  thyself  when  a  man  becometh 
wealthy, 

And  when  the  glory  of  his  house  is 
increased  ! 

For  nothing  doth  he  take  with  him  when 
he  dieth 

And  his  glory  goeth  not  with  him  to 
the  grave. 

Even  though  his  soul  while  he  liveth  be 
thought  fortunate, 

And  even  though  it  praiseth  Thee  for 
Thy  kindness  towards  it. 

Yet  he  goeth  (none  the  less)  unto  the 
generation  of  his  fathers. 

And  beholdeth  the  light  nevermore. 


WEALTH  AVAILS  NOT  THE  WICKED 


21.  Homo,  cum  in  honore  21. 
esset,  non  intellexit :  compara¬ 
tus  est  jumentis  insipientibus, 
et  similis  factus  est  illis. 


For  a  man  when  he  is  in  honour  doth  not 
realise  it : 

He  resembleth  the  brute  beasts,  and  is 
made  like  unto  them. 


2-5  is  an  introduction. 

3.  The  terrigena  and  the  filii  hominum  may  be  the  common  people 
and  the  better  classes,  the  low,  and  high,  respectively. 

Simul  in  unum,  ‘  all  of  them/  ‘  altogether/ 

4.  Better  to  translate  as  if  the  text  had  prudentia. 

5.  The  psalmist  bends  his  ear  to  hear  an  oracle  that  is  given  to 
him  from  above,  that  he  may  announce  and  explain  it.  Thus,  he 
claims  something  like  inspiration  for  his  teaching  in  what  follows. 
This  inspired  teaching  he  will  communicate  to  the  accompaniment 
of  music  like  some  of  the  ancient  prophets  (c/.  I  Kings  x.  5  ;  IV  K. 
iii.  15).  Parabola  (Hebrew  mashal)  may  mean  comparison,  parable, 
proverb,  poem  (taunt-song  or  didactic  poem),  story.  Aperiam,  ‘  I 
will  solve  '  ;  in  psalterio,  ‘  to  the  sound  of  the  harp/  Propositio, 
riddle,  problem. 

6.  The  problem.  It  is  somewhat  obscured  in  the  text.  Probably 
w e  should  read  ‘  behold  '  instead  of  ‘  fear/  ‘  Why  must  I  look  on 
the  days  of  the  godless,  when  the  malice  of  treacherous  foes  encom- 
passeth  me  ?  '  Why,  in  other  words,  must  I  behold  the  prosperity 
of  the  godless,  while  I,  a  faithful  servant  of  God,  am  oppressed  ? 

Iniquitas  calcanei,  literally,  ‘  the  malice  of  my  heel/  It  has, 
bowever,  been  taken  as  *  malice  of  my  footsteps/  so  that  the  sense 
would  be  :  ‘I  must  look  on  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked  because  of 
my  sins/  This  is  unlikely.  The  Hebrew  ‘ekebh  (= calcaneum)  is 
sometimes  used  in  the  sense  of  treachery,  and  the  translation,  ‘  the 
malice  of  my  treacherous  foes  '  is,  therefore,  possible,  and  it  suits 
the  context. 

7.  This  is  a  description  of  the  treacherous  enemies.  They  are 
wealthy,  and  they  boast  of  their  riches. 

8.  The  answer.  The  wealth  of  the  godless  cannot  ransom  him 
from  death.  The  sense  is  ciear,  but  the  text  is  unsatisfactory.  Frater 
and  homo  might  be  taken  as  meaning,  ‘the  one  .  .  .  the  other/ 
The  non  would  go  with  the  second  redimet  also.  The  sense  would  be 
that  no  one  can  buy  himself  off  from  death.  The  same  thought 
would  be  repeated  at  the  end  of  verse  8  and  the  beginning  of  verse  9. 
No  man  can  pay  a  placatio  (a  ransom,  a  weregild)  to  Gcd  ;  no  man 
can  pay  the  price  of  his  ransom  from  death. 

9.  10.  This  is  a  very  difficult  text  in  the  Vulgate.  The  Hebrew 
is  simple  enough  :  ‘  For  too  dear  is  the  price  of  their  life,  and  he  must 
abandon  it  for  ever  *  (or,  ‘  and  he  must  desist  [from  living]  for  ever  '), 

Laborabit  may  be  rendered,  perhaps,  as  in  the  translation,  '  even 


12 


i78 


THE  PSALMS 


though  he  should  toil/  However  he  toiJs,  he  will  not  be  able  to 
ransom  himself  from  death. 

11.  Non  videbit  interitum.  Even  though  a  man  refuses  to  think 
of  his  own  death,  the  general  law  stili  holds. 

12.  The  grave  is  the  last  dwelling  of  ali,  even  of  those  who  ha  ve 
given  their  names  to  territories  which  they  have  conquered'. 

13.  This  appears  again,  as  a  sort  of  refrain,  in  verse  21.  In 
Hebrew  the  verse  runs  :  *  The  man  who  is  in  honour  abides  not  :  he 
is  made  like  the  beasts  that  perish/  The  Septuagint  translators 
read  yabliin  ‘  he  understandeth/  instead  of,  yalin,  ‘  he  abideth/  The 
verse  implies  that  even  the  greatest  men  must  die  and,  in  this,  are 
no  better  than  the  beast.  The  Vulgate  suggests  that  great  wealth 
prevents  its  possessor  from  thinking  on  the  certainty  of  his  death  : 
in  his  want  of  foresight  the  rich  man  is  like  the  brute  beasts.  Cf. 
Luke  xii.  16-21. 

14.  Again  a  difficult  verse.  The  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  This  is  the  fate 
of  those  who  trust  in  themselves,  and  of  those  who,  after  them,  in 
their  speech  take  pleasure/  Hence  postea  is  equivalent  to  post  eos, 
[eorum  qui  post  eos].  Scandalum  takes  the  place  of  Hebrew  kesel, 

‘  confidence/  ‘  presumption/  Did  the  Greek  translators  think  of  a 
word  from  the  root  kashal,  to  stumble  ? 

15.  Death  shepherds  them  ( depascet )  all  into  the  netherworld 
(infernus,  the  Hebrew  Sheol).  This  verse,  and  the  following  show 
that  the  psalmist 's  answer  to  his  riddle  is  not  merely  that  the  wicked 
must  die,  but  that  the  just  will,  somehow,  at  length  prevail  over 
them.  Does  this  mean  that,  while  some  of  the  just  may  die,  yet, 
some  of  them  will  be  saved  from  death  ?  This  does  seem  to  be  im- 
plied  in  verse  16. 

In  matutino,  means  ‘  quickly/ 

Veterascet,  grow  old,  vanish  (cf.  Luke  xvi.  19-21.  The  contrast 
of  Dives  and  Lazarus  recalls  the  chief  thought  of  this  psalm.). 

A  gloria  eorum  :  this  is  a  pregnant  construction  implying  that 
none  of  their  glory  remains. 

16.  The  sense  is  not  that  God  always  rescues  the  psalmist  from 
Sheol  when  it  seizes  him,  but  that  God  has  the  power  of  saving  him 
from  death.  The  psalmist,  on  this  interpretation,  need  not  be 
regarded  as  excluding  some  men  from  death  permanently.  He  would 
mean  that  while  all  must  die,  God  sometimes  lengthens  relatively 
the  life  of  the  just.  Possibly  this  is  the  privilege  of  the  just  men- 
tioned  in  the  preceding  verse.  If  it  is,  we  cannot  regard  verse  15 
as  clearly  suggesting  a  contrast  in  the  world  of  the  dead  between 
those  who  have  died  in  sin  and  those  who  have  died  as  God's  friends. 
The  verse  is,  however,  obscure,  and  the  suggestion  of  such  a  contrast 
cannot  be  excluded  from  it. 

17.  Since  the  rich  must  die,  the  wise  man  will  not  feel  envious  of 
his  riches.  This  is  the  moral  of  the  psalm. 


WEALTH  AVAILS  NOT  THE  WICKED 


l79 


19.  Benedicetur,  ‘  is  praised/  *  regarded  as  prosperous  ’  ;  and  even 
though  his  soul  is  grateful  to  you  for  your  favours,  i. e.  even  though 
he  was  your  friend — 

20.  Nevertheless  he  must  join  his  fathers  in  Sheol,  the  land  of 
everlasting  darkness. 

21.  Repeti  tion  of  the  sad  refrain. 


PSALM  XLIX 


THE  WELL-PLEASING  SACRIFICE 


IN  fire  and  storm  the  Lord  comes  forth  to  chide  and  instruet  the 
people  of  His  Covenant.  He  does  not  find  fault  with  any 
neglect  of  sacrificial  worship  on  their  part,  since  their  holocausts 
are  e  ver  before  Him  :  but  He  declares  to  them  that  animal- 
sacrifices  have,  of  themselves,  no  value  for  Him.  The  sacrifice 
which  He  delights  in  is  the  sacrifice  of  thanks  and  prayer.  In  verse 
16  the  chiding  of  God  is  addressed  harshly  to  the  hypocrites  among 
His  people,  who  have  His  Law  always  on  their  lips,  but  reject  it  in 
their  conduct.  These  may  have  thought  that  their  professions  could 
deceive  the  Lord  :  now  He  shows  them  their  error.  They  also  must 
know,  that  only  by  sacrifices  of  genuine  praise  can  they  honour  the 
Lord,  and  secure  His  help. 

A  Temple  was  stili  standing  at  the  time  the  poem  was  composed, 
and,  most  likely,  that  Temple  was  the  Temple  of  Solomon.  The 
sacrificial  ritual  was  stili  apparently,  more  perfect  than  it  is  known 
to  have  been  in  the  second  temple.  The  fundamental  thought  of 
the  poem,  that  praise  and  prayer  are  better  than  the  blood  of  animal 
offerings,  is  familiar  in  the  period  of  the  oldest  literary  prophecy. 
C/.  Osee  vi.  6;  Is.  i.  uff;  Mich.  vi.  6ff.  We  are,  therefore,  fully 
justified  in  regarding  this  psalm  as  pre-exilic. 


1.  Psalmus  Asaph.  i. 

Deus  deorum  Dominus  locutus 
est  :  et  vocavit  terram. 

A  solis  ortu  usque  ad  occasum: 

2.  Ex  Sion  species  decoris  2. 

ejus. 

3.  Deus  manifeste  veniet :  3. 

Deus  noster  et  non  silebit. 

Ignis  in  conspectu  ejus  ex¬ 
ardescet  :  et  in  circuitu  ejus 
tempestas  valida. 

4.  Advocabit  coelum  desur-  4. 

sum  :  et  terram  discernere  po¬ 
pulum  suum. 

5.  Congregate  illi  sanctos  5. 

•ejus  :  qui  ordinant  testamen¬ 
tum  ejus  super  sacrificia. 

6.  Et  annuntiabunt  coeli  ju-  6. 
stitiam  ejus :  quoniam  Deus 
judex  est. 


A  psalm  of  Asaph. 


The  God  of  Gods,  the  Lord,  speaketh, 
And  summoneth  the  world,  from  the 
sunrise  to  the  west. 

From  Sion  (cometh)  the  crown  of  His 
glory, 

God  cometh  forth  visible  ;  our  God, 
and  is  not  silent. 

Before  Him  fire  bursteth  forth 

And  round  Him  rageth  a  mighty  storm. 

He  calleth  from  above  the  heaven 

And  earth,  that  He  may  judge  His 
people  : 

‘  Gather  ye  unto  Him  His  faithful  ones, 
Who  establish  a  covenant  with  Him  by 
sacrifice.’ 

The  heavens  then  declare  His  justice, 
And  that  God  is  (about  to  be)  judge. 


180 


THE  WELL-PLEASING  SACRIFICE 


181 


7.  Audi  populus  meus,  et  7. 
loquar :  Israel,  et  testificabor 

tibi  :  Deus  Deus  tuus  ego  sum. 

8.  Non  in  sacrificiis  tuis  ar-  8. 
guam  te  :  holocausta  autem  tua 

in  conspectu  meo  sunt  semper. 

9.  Non  accipiam  de  domo  tua  9. 
vitulos  :  neque  de  gregibus  tuis 
hircos. 

10.  Quoniam  meae  sunt  omnes  10. 
ferae  silvarum,  jumenta  in  mon¬ 
tibus  et  boves. 

11.  Cognovi  omnia  volatilia  11. 

coeli  :  et  pulchritudo  agri  me- 
cum  est. 

12.  Si  esuriero,  non  dicam  12. 

tibi  :  meus  est  enim  orbis 
terrae,  et  plenitudo  ejus. 

13.  Numquid  manducabo  13. 

carnes  taurorum  ?  aut  san¬ 
guinem  hircorum  potabo  ? 

14.  Immola  Deo  sacrificium  14. 

laudis  :  et  redde  Altissimo  vota 

tua. 

15.  Et  invoca  me  in  die  tri-  15. 
bulationis  :  eruam  te,  et  hono¬ 
rificabis  me. 


‘  Hear,  O  my  people,  for  I  would  speak, 
O  Israel,  I  would  declare  to  thee  : 
God,  thy  God  am  I. 

Not  for  thy  sacrifices  do  I  chide  thee, 
Indeed  thy  holocausts  are  ever  before 
me. 

I  would  take  no  cattle  from  thy  house  ; 
Nor  he-goats  from  thy  flocks, 

For  every  wild  beast  of  the  forest  is  mine — 
The  cattle  on  the  mountains,  and  the 
kine. 

I  know  all  the  birds  of  heaven  ; 

And  mine  is  all  the  glory  of  the  fields. 

If  I  were  hungry,  I  would  not  teli  thee. 
For  mine  is  the  earth  and  all  that  it 
holds. 

Or,  do  I  eat  the  flesh  off  bulls, 

Or  drink  the  blood  of  he-goats  ? 

Offer  thou  to  God  the  sacrifice  of  thanks- 
giving, 

And  pay  thy  vows  to  the  Most  High ; 
And  call  on  Me  in  the  day  of  need, 

Then  will  I  save  thee  and  thou  shalt 
honour  Me.’ 


16.  But  to  the  sinner  God  saith  ; 

‘  Why  recitest  thou  my  laws. 

And  speakest  of  my  Covenant ; 


16.  Peccatori  autem  dixit 
Deus  :  Quare  tu  enarras  justi¬ 
tias  meas,  et  assumis  testamen¬ 
tum  meum  per  os  tuum  ? 

17.  Tu  vero  odisti  discipli-  17. 
nam :  et  projecisti  sermones 
meos  retrorsum  : 

18.  Si  videbas  furem,  currebas 
cum  eo  :  et  cum  adulteris  por¬ 
tionem  tuam  ponebas. 

19.  Os  tuam  abundavit  mali¬ 
tia  :  et  lingua  tua  concinnabat 
dolos. 

20.  Sedens  adversus  fratrem  tu-  20. 

um  loquebaris,  et  adversus  filium 
matris  tuae  ponebas  scandalum : 

21.  Haec  fecisti,  et  tacui.  21. 

Existimasti  inique  quod  ero 

tui  similis  :  arguam  te,  et  sta¬ 
tuam  contra  faciem  tuam. 


22.  Intelligite  haec  qui  obii-  22. 
viscimini  Deum  :  nequando  ra¬ 
piat,  et  non  sit  qui  eripiat. 

23.  Sacrificium  laudis  hono-  23. 

rificabit  me  :  et  illic  iter,  quo 
ostendam  illi  salutare  Dei. 


Whereas  thou  hatest  discipline. 

And  castest  my  words  behind  thee  ? 


Thou  sittest  and  speakest  against  thy 
brother  ; 

Thou  slanderest  the  son  of  thy  mother. 

This  didst  thou,  and  I  held  my  peace. 

Thou  thinkest,  then,  godless  one,  that 
I  am  like  unto  thee  ! 

I  will  reprove  thee  and  show  thee  how 
the  case  stands. 

Mark  this  well,  ye  that  forget  God — 

So  that  ye  be  not  seized  while  there  is 
none  to  save  you — 

'Tis  a  sacrifice  of  praise  that  honours  me. 

And  this  is  the  way  by  which  I  will  let 
him  [a  man]  see  the  saving  help  of 
God.’ 


18.  When  thou  seest  a  thief  thou  runnest 

with  him  ; 

And  with  adulterers  thou  makest 
common  cause. 

19.  Thy  mouth  overfloweth  with  malice  ; 

And  thy  tongue  weaveth  mischief. 


1.  Psalms  xlix,  lxxii-lxxxii  are  assigned  to  Asaph.  Some  of  them 
can,  perhaps,  be  ascribed,  without  serious  difficulty,  to  Asaph  himself 


182 


THE  PSALMS 


who  was  a  contemporary  of  David.  Other  Asaphite  psalms,  however, 
are  certainly  post-Davidic.  There  was,  no  doubt,  a  so-called  Asaphite 
psalm  book,  or  Asaphite  Collection,  the  poems  of  which  were  assigned 
to  Asaph,  though  many  items  of  the  collection  were  written  neither 
by  Asaph,  nor  any  of  his  descendants. 

Deus  Deorum,  ‘  the  highest  God  '  ;  cf.  ‘  Holy  of  Holies  ’ ;  ‘  King 
of  Kings/ 

The  description  of  the  theophany  (verses  1-4)  is  obviously  an 
echo  of  Deut.  xxxiii.  2  (cf.  Jud.  v.  4).  In  the  ancient  tradition  Yah- 
weh  came  forth  from  Sinai  ;  here  Mt.  Sion  appears  as  the  mountain 
of  His  dwelling,  whence  He  goes  forth  to  speak  to  His  people. 

2.  Species  decoris  seems  to  refer  to  Sion  in  the  Hebre w  text — ‘  the 
crown  of  His  beauty/  Sion  is  not  only  the  holiest  city  of  Israel ;  it 
is  also  the  most  beautiful.  The  designation  suggests  the  pre-exilic 
period. 

3.  Non  silebit ;  His  coming  is  heralded  by  thunder,  which  the 
Hebre ws  called  the  ‘  voice  of  Yahweh/  For  the  thunder,  lightning, 
and  storm  of  the  Theophany,  cf.  Ps.  xvii.  9-15. 

4.  Earth  and  heaven  are  summoned  to  hear  the  Lord’s  words  to 
His  people.  Cf.  Isaias  i.  2. 

Discernere,  so  that  He  may  judge  (or  instruet)  His  people. 

5.  The  original  text,  as  it  stands,  addresses  the  command  to 
summon  the  sancti  (‘  faithful  worshippers)  to  earth  and  heaven.1 

Qui  ordinant ;  ‘  who  conclude  the  covenant  with  Him  by  sacrifice, 
i. e.  on  the  basis  of  sacrifices/  The  reference  is  to  the  Covenant  at 
Sinai.  See  Exodus  xxiv.  5. 

6.  Heaven  announces  that  the  Lord  is  about  to  judge. 

7.  Loquar  and  testificabor  are  parallel. 

8.  Semper :  the  Hebrew  word  tamid  means  both  ‘always  '  and 
‘  the  daily  holocaust  ’  ;  thus,  there  is  a  play  on  words. 

gff.  God  does  not  need  what  is  already  His. 

11.  Pulchritudo  agri ;  Hebrew,  ‘  all  that  roves  in  the  plain/ 
The  Latin  means,  perhaps,  ‘  All  the  produce  of  the  fields  *  ;  but  a 
reference  to  living  things  would  be  more  in  place. 


1  Reading  verse  6  between  verse  4  and  verse  5  we  could  translate  the  Hebrew 
thus  : 

The  heavens  above  He  summoneth 

And  the  earth,  to  the  trial  of  His  people. 

That  the  heavens  declare  Him  to  be  just, 

And  the  earth  (proclaim  Him)  as  God  of  Justice. 

(Words  of  God)  : 

“  Assemble  unto  me,  my  pious  ones 

Who  have  sealed  my  covenant  with  sacrifice; 

Listen,  my  people,  and  I  will  speak, 

Israel !  and  I  will  warn  thee  : 

I  am  Yahweh,  thy  God.” 

Heaven  and  earth  are  summoned  to  listen  to  the  trial  of  Israel. 


THE  WELL-PLEASING  SACRIFICE 


183 


12.  This  is  an  ironical  supposition. 

14,  15.  The  true  offering — praise  and  trusting  prayer.  Possibly 
verse  14  ought  to  be  understood  :  *  Offer  to  God  a  sacrifice  of  praise, 
and  thus  fulfil  thy  vows  to  the  Most  High/  Not  holocausts  are  to 
be  promised  to  God,  but  thanksgiving  of  praise.  When  a  man  in 
time  of  trouble  turns  to  the  Lord  with  humble  prayer,  he  does  more 
to  secure  help  than  if  he  vowed  rich  offerings  of  sacrificial  animals. 
It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  psalm  does  not  teach  that  sacrifice  of  animals 
is  sinful,  but  only  that  it  is  relatively  fruitless.  The  phrase  Immola 
Deo  sacrificium  laudis  is  a  strange  one,  for  immola  implies  a  slaying. 
But  the  corresponding  phrase  in  Hebrew  is  no  less  strange  :  '  Slaughter 
thanks  unto  God/  The  general  meaning,  however,  is  ciear  enough. 
The  Hebrews  were  fond  of  quaint  expressions.  C/.,  for  instance, 
‘  circumcision  of  the  heart  ’ ;  ‘  rending  the  heart,  and  not  the  gar- 
ments/  etc.  (cf.  Jer.  iii.  25  ;  Ps.  1.  19).  For  the  demand  for  a  loyal 
heart  and  inward  uprightness,  as  opposed  to  the  mere  external  per- 
formance  of  ritual,  compare  the  prophetic  texts  :  Is.  i.  ujf.  ;  Mich. 
vi.  8  ;  Jer.  vii.  22/.,  etc.,  etc. 

16.  In  the  preceding  verses  instruction  was  given  to  the  loyal 
observers  of  the  Law.  Here  the  Lord  addresses  those  who  pretend 
to  keep  the  Law,  but  keep  it  not,  those  on  whose  lips  is  the  Law, 
but  whose  hearts  are  far  from  it. 

17.  Disciplina,  ‘  instruction/  These  men  pay  no  regard  to  the 
moral  precepts  of  the  Law. 

18.  Portionem  ponere,  ‘  to  cast  one’s  lot  with/ 

19.  Concinnabat,  ‘  weave/  Note  how  the  true  Hebrew  is  expected 
to  hold  himself  utterly  apart  from  sinners,  and  compare  the  teaching 
of  Ps.  i. 

20.  The  ‘  sitting  ’  was  perhaps  in  the  trial  or  judgment  (cf.  Ps.  i.  1). 

Scandalum,  usually  ‘  a  trap/  ‘  a  stumbling-block/  It  translates 

here  the  Hebrew  dephi,  mockery,  disgrace. 

21.  God  will  show  the  godless  that  He  is  not  indifferent  :  He 
will  set  before  the  face  of  the  wicked  his  real  condition. 

22.  23.  Though  this  is  addressed  to  the  wicked,  it  contains  the 
.  lesson  of  the  whole  psalm.  The  lesson  to  be  learned  (haec)  is,  that 

praise  is  the  true  sacrifice.  Illic — there,  i. e.  in  the  offering  of  praise. 
Illi,  the  man  who  offers  the  sacrifice  of  praise. 

In  the  Hebrew  (slightly  emended),  verse  23  reads  : 

'  Whoso  offereth  praise  honoureth  me  ; 

Whoso  walketh  in  innocence  shall  see  God’s  help.' 


PSALM  L 


GOD,  BE  MERCIFUL  TO  ME  A  SINNER 

THIS  is  a  deeply  humble  penitential  poem.  The  psalmist, 
after  an  introductory  appeal  for  pardon  (verses  3-4),  makes 
a  confession  of  his  guilt.  It  is  always  before  his  eyes  :  he 
cannot  get  away  from  it.  His  sin  which  has  sprung  from 
his  sinful  nature,  has  been  against  God  alone.  It  must  be  confessed 
that  God’s  judgment  on  him  may  be  understood  by  men.  Even  in 
hidden  things  of  the  conscience  God  demands  loyalty  and  truth  (5-8). 
There  follows  a  prayer  for  pardon  (9-14) — on  the  one  hand  for 
cleansing,  purification  from  his  sin  (9-11),  and,  on  the  other,  for  the 
renewal  of  spirit,  that  fidelity  in  the  future  demands  (12-14).  The 
psalmist  then  makes  a  promise  of  active  work  to  bring  other  sinners 
to  God.  If  God  will  save  him  from  bloodshed  he  will  publish  to  the 
world  God’s  mercy  and  goodness  towards  himself .  The  '  bloodshed  ' 
is  probably  the  treatment  he  feared  at  the  hands  of  his  former 
associates.  Verses  20  and  21  are  a  later  addition  made  to  the  psalm 
in  the  exilic,  or  early  post-exilic  period,  by  a  writer  who  attached 
more  importance  to  the  offering  of  animal  sacrifice,  than  did  the 
psalmist. 

The  poem  is  ascribed  to  David  and  its  occasion  is  declared  by 
ancient  tradition  to  have  been  the  penitential  mood  produced  in 
David  by  the  chiding  of  Nathan  after  the  king’s  adultery  with  Beth- 
sabee  (II  Kings  xii).  Apart  from  verses  20  and  21,  which  are  ab- 
viously  not  a  portion  of  the  original  psalm,  there  is  nothing  in  the 
poem  which  might  exclude  Davidic  authorship.  The  deep  pathos 
of  the  psalm,  and  the  great  emphasis  on  the  psalmist 's  sense  of  guilt, 
seem  to  exclude  the  view  first  advanced  by  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia, 
and  nowadays  widely  accepted,  that  the  singer  in  the  psalm  is  not 
an  individual,  but  the  nation  of  Israel. 


1,2.  In  finem,  Psalmus  David,  1, 
cum  venit  adeum  Nathan  pro¬ 
pheta,  quando  intravit  ad  Beth- 
sabee. 


3.  Miserere  mei  Deus,  secun-  3. 
dum  magnam  misericordiam 
tuam. 

Et  secundum  multitudinem 
miserationum  tuarum,  dele  ini¬ 
quitatem  meam. 


2.  For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of 
David  when  Nathan  the  prophet 
came  to  him,  after  he  had  gone  in  to 
Bethsabee. 


Be  gracious  to  me,  O  God,  according  to 
Thy  great  graciousness  ; 

And  according  to  Thy  many  deeds  of 
kindness  blot  out  my  transgression  ! 


184 


GOD,  BE  MERCIFUL  TO  ME  A  SINNER  185 


4.  Amplius  lava  me  ab  ini-  4. 
quitate  mea  :  et  a  peccato  meo 
munda  me. 

5.  Quoniam  iniquitatem  me-  5. 
am  ego  cognosco  :  et  peccatum 
meum  contra  me  est  semper. 

6.  Tibi  soli  peccavi,  et  malum  6. 
coram  te  feci  :  ut  justificeris  in 
sermonibus  tuis,  et  vincas  cum 
judicaris. 


7.  Ecce  enim  in  iniquitatibus  7. 
conceptus  sum  :  et  in  peccatis 
concepit  me  mater  mea. 

8.  Ecce  enim  veritatem  di-  8. 
lexisti  :  incerta  et  occulta  sa¬ 
pientiae  tuae  manifestasti  mihi. 


9.  Asperges  me  hyssopo,  et  9- 
mundabor  :  lavabis  me,  et  super 
nivem  dealbabor. 

10.  Auditui  meo  dabis  gau-  10. 
dium  et  laetitiam  :  et  exsulta¬ 
bunt  ossa  humiliata. 

11.  Averte  faciem  tuam  a  11. 
peccatis  meis  :  et  omnes  iniqui¬ 
tates  meas  dele. 

12.  Cor  mundum  crea  in  me  12. 
Deus  :  et  spiritum  rectum  inno¬ 
va  in  visceribus  meis. 

13.  Ne  projicias  me  a  facie  13. 
tua  :  et  Spiritum  sanctum  tuum 

ne  auferas  a  me. 

14.  Redde  mihi  laetitiam  sa-  14. 
lutaris  tui  :  et  spiritu  principali 
confirma  me. 

15.  Docebo  iniquos  vias  tuas  :  15. 

et  impii  ad  te  convertentur. 

16.  Libera  me  de  sanguinibus  16. 
Deus,  Deus  salutis  meae  :  et 
exsultabit  lingua  mea  justitiam 
tuam. 

17.  Domine,  labia  mea  ape-  17. 
ries  :  et  os  meum  annuntiabit 
laudem  tuam. 

18.  Quoniam  si  voluisses  sa-  18. 
crificium,  dedissem  utique  :  ho¬ 
locaustis  non  delectaberis. 


19.  Sacrificium  Deo  spiritus  19. 
contribulatus  :  cor  contritum, 
et  humiliatum  Deus  non  despi¬ 
cies. 


Wash  me  completely  from  my  miquity  ; 
And  cleanse  me  from  my  sin  ! 


For  I  myself  do  know  my  transgression  ; 

And  my  sin  is  ever  present  before  me. 

Against  Thee  alone  have  I  sinned  ; 

And  what  is  evil  before  Thee  I  have 
done 

[This  I  confess]  that  Thou  mayest  be 
known  to  be  just  in  Thy  words  ; 

And  that  Thou  mayest  have  the  victory 
when  Thou  art  judged. 

For  behold  I  was  born  in  sins  ! 

And  in  sins  did  my  mother  conceive  me! 

Behold,  Thou  lovest  loyalty  ! 

The  hidden  and  secret  things  of  Thy 
wisdom  Thou  makest  known  to  me. 


Purify  me  with  hyssop,  that  I  may  be 
clean  ! 

Wash  me  that  I  may  be  whiter  than 
snow  ! 

Let  me  hear  sounds  of  joy  and  gladness  ! 

And  let  the  bones  that  were  crushed 
rejoice  ! 

Turn  away  Thy  face  from  my  sins, 

And  blot  out  all  my  iniquity  ! 

Create  a  clean  heart  within  me  ; 

And  a  right  spirit  renew  in  my  breast ! 

Cast  me  not  off  from  Thy  presence  ; 

And  Thy  holy  spirit  take  not  from  me  ! 

Give  me  again  the  glad  sense  of  Thy  help  ; 

And  strengthen  me  with  a  noble  spirit ! 


I  will  teach  the  godless  Thy  ways, 

So  that  sinners  may  return  to  Thee. 

Save  me  from  bloodshed,  O  God,  my 
helping  God, 

And  my  tongue  will  praise  Thy 
righteousness. 

O  Lord,  do  Thou  open  my  lips  ; 

And  my  mouth  will  publish  Thy  praise  ! 

If  Thou  hadst  wished  for  sacrificial 
offerings, 

I  would  surely  have  given  them. 

But  in  holocausts  Thou  hast  no  plea- 
sure. 

The  sacrifice  to  God  is  a  spirit  that  is 
chastened  ; 

A  heart  that  is  broken  and  crushed,  O 
God,  Thou  dost  not  despise. 


i86 


THE  PSALMS 


20.  Benigne  fac  Domine  in  20. 

bona  voluntate  tua  Sion  :  ut 
aedificentur  muri  Jerusalem. 

21.  Tunc  acceptabis  sacrifi-  21. 

cium  justitiae,  oblationes,  et 
holocausta  :  tunc  imponent  su¬ 
per  altare  tuum  vitulos. 


Deal  kindly  with  Sion  in  Thy  gracious- 
ness,  O  Lord, 

That  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  may  be 
rebuilt ! 

Then  shalt  Thou  receive  due  sacrifices 
and  holocausts  ; 

Then  shall  men  offer  bullocks  on  Thy 
altar. 


2.  DavicTs  answer  to  Nathan  :  “  I  have  sinned  against  the  Lord  ” 
(II  Kings  xii.  13)  may  be  regarded  as  expanded  in  this  psalm. 

3.  Miserere  ;  the  Hebrew  means  :  Be  gracious  to  me  ;  miseri¬ 
cordia  represents  the  Hebrew,  hesed,  ‘  loving-kindness/ 

Miserationes — Hebrew  ‘  compassion  ’  (in  the  sense  of  yearning 
love,  like  that  of  a  mother  for  her  child)  :  ‘  As  behoves  Thy  great 
compassion,  blot  out  my  guilt/  God  is  asked  to  blot  out  his  sins 
out  of  the  Book  of  reckoning  or  doom,  in  which  men's  sins  are  written 
down.  C/.  Ps.  lxviii.  29  (a  reference  to  the  book  in  which  the  just 
are  written  down)  and  Isaias  xliii.  25.  Compare  the  analogous 
case,  Num.  v.  23.  The  Babylonians  used  to  pray  that  the  tablet 
on  which  their  sins  were  written,  might  be  broken. 

4.  Amplius,  ‘  more  and  more/  completely.  There  are  three 

words  for  the  sin  to  be  extinguished  in  the  Hebrew  text.  They  are, 
in  order  :  (1)  pesha‘,  personal  rebellion  against  God  :  (2)  ‘  awon , 

moral  evil  in  general :  (3)  hatta’th,  sins  of  imprudence.  Note  that 
the  sins  are  to  be  blotted  out  of  God’s  Book,  and  washed  away  from  the 
sinner.1 

5.  6.  The  psalmist  is  fully  conscious  of  his  sin  :  it  is  always  before 
him.  All  his  sin  has  been  against  the  Lord.  This  does  not,  however, 
exclude  the  possibility  of  his  having  sinned  against  men,  since  the 
psalmist  will  have  looked  on  all  sin  as  ultimately  directed  against 
God. 

Contra  me,  ‘  before  me/ 

Ut  justificeris,  etc.  The  sense  is  not,  of  course,  that  he  has  sinned 
that  God  might  be  declared  just.  We  must  regard  the  phrase  as 
dependent  on  some  such  suppressed  statement  as  that  suggested  in 
the  translation.  God  cannot  be  made  just  :  but  He  can  be  declared 
or  recognised  to  be  just — just,  that  is,  in  His  dealings  with  the 
psalmist. 


1  The  idea  of  washing  away  sin  is  derived  obviously  from  the  ritual  puri- 
fications  of  Hebrew  cult.  The  Israelite  who  came  with  his  burden  of  sin  to  the 
Sanctuary,  would  wash  himself  and  his  garments,  and  the  priests  would,  in  some 
formula,  assure  him  of  pardon.  Probably  penitential  songs  were  chanted 
during  the  ceremonies  of  purification.  To  each  phase  or  action  of  the  cere- 
monies  a  suitable  chant  would  be  assigned.  The  sprinkling  with  hyssop  (verse  9) 
was  apparently  a  definite  feature  of  the  ceremonial.  In  Babylon  washings  for 
the  removal  of  sin  were  familiar,  and  there  is  a  fairly  close  resemblance  of  style 
between  the  Biblical  and  the  Babylonian  penitential  poems. 


GOD,  BE  MERCIFUL  TO  ME  A  SINNER  187 

Sermones  are  Gods  promises  to  pardon  the  penitent,  and — 
perhaps,  to  punish  the  guilty  :  Or,  better,  God’s  decision  to  inflict 
punishment  in  the  psalmist ’s  case. 

Et  vincas  cum  judicaris  :  This  translation,  following  the  Greek, 
is  based  on  a  mistaken  view  of  the  Hebrew  text.  The  Greek  trans- 
lators  took  the  Hebrew  tizkeh  as  giving  the  sense  ‘  Thou  shalt  conquer/ 
because  the  Aramaic  tizkeh  could  ha  ve  that  sense.  But,  in  Hebrew/ 
the  meaning  is,  ‘  that  Thou  mayest  be  free  from  reproach/  Judicaris 
ought  to  be  cum  judices. 

In  the  Hebrew,  then,  the  verse  runs  ^  ‘  That  Thou  mayest  appear 
just  when  Thou  speakest,  and  pure  when  Thou  givest  decision/ 
God  will  be  seen  to  be  just  when  it  is  known  that  the  psalmist  has 
sinned.  Punishment,  implies  guilt.  God’s  decision  to  punish  the 
psalmist  will  be  recognised  as  just  in  view  of  the  lattehs  confession. 
Cf.  Roms.  iii.  4. 

7.  The  personal  sin  of  the  psalmist  is  the  outcome  of  inherited 
mali  ce.  Hence  he  deserves  all  the  more  the  divine  compassion. 
It  is  reasonable  to  see  here,  in  substance  at  least,  if  not  formally, 
a  reference  to  original  sin.  Cf.  Job  xxv.  4  ;  xv.  14  ;  Ps.  cxlii.  2. 

8.  This  verse  is  usually  explained  as  giving  a  further  ground  of 
the  appeal  for  pardon.  David  has  been  an  intimate  friend,  and 
mostly  a  loyal  one,  of  God,  and  this  is  a  further  claim  on  God’s  mercy. 
The  Hebrew  is  obscure.  The  Vulgate  ought,  perhaps,  to  be  thus 
explained  :  ‘  Thou  lovest  sincerity  of  heart  (i. e.  Thou  willest  that  a 
man  be  sincere  with  his  own  heart,  and  with  Thee)  :  make,  therefore, 
known  to  me  Thy  hidden  wisdom  !  ’  The  verse  would  explain  the 
openness  and  fulness  of  the  preceding  confession.  The  psalmist 
says  then,  in  effect  :  ‘  I  am  thus  open  with  Thee  because  Thou  wilt 
have  it  so/  The  verse  is  often,  however,  connected  with  the  petition 
that  follows,  thus  :  ‘  Thou  who  lovest  truth  and  makest  known  to 
me  the  depths  of  Thy  wisdom,  do  Thou  purify  me/  etc.  It  seems 
better,  however,  to  connect  it  with  the  confession.  A  slightly  emended 
Hebrew  text  gives  the  sense  : 

‘  Behold  in  truth  and  trust  hast  Thou  Thy  pleasure, 

When  Thou  teachest  me  the  secrets  of  Thy  wisdom.' 

9.  Liturgical  aspersion  was  the  Symbol  of  purification.  *  For  the 
use  of  hyssop,  compare  Leviticus  xiv.  4 ff. 

10.  The  ‘  joy  '  and  '  gladness  *  are  the  words  of  divine  pardon. 

Ossa  humiliata  does  not  necessarily  imply  bodily  sickness,  but 

only  complete  depression,  without  statement  of  its  origin. 

12.  The  f  spirit  *  means  ‘  disposition  '  :  in  verse  13  it  means 
divine  assistance  [cf.  Isaias  lxiii.  9-1 1).  This  petition  for  a  new  crea- 
tion  is  very  striking  ;  the  granting  of  justice  and  steadfast  loyalty 
towards  God  will  be  an  act  of  creation.  Cf.  II  Cor.  v.  17  ;  Gal.  vi.  15. 


1 88 


THE  PSALMS 


14.  Latitiam  salutaris  tui,  Thy  joy-bringing  help,  or,  ‘  joy  for 
Thy  saving  help.’ 

Spiritu  principali,  is,  apparently,  parallel  to  the  spiritus  rectus  of 
verse  12.  '  Principalis  ’  represents  the  Greek,  ^ye/xovtKog,  princely 

leading,  ruling.  The  Hebrew  is  nedibhah — a  spirit  of  ‘  readiness/  of 
‘  willingness  ’ — to  learn,  and  do,  the  right  and  good  {cf.  Matt.  xxvi. 
41 — ‘The  spirit  indeed  is  willing  ’  [=ready]).  Such  a  spirit  could 
well  be  called  splendid  or  princely. 

15.  The  psalmist ’s  promise.  He  will  show  his  thanks  by  working 
for  the  conversion  of  the  godless. 

16.  This  verse  makes  difficulty  in  its  present  position  ;  verse  17 

would  follow  naturally  on  verse  15.  But  why  the  reference  to  blood- 
shed  ?  Possibly  the  psalmist  fears  that  his  effort  to  bring  the 

godless  associates  of  his  former  sins  to  God,  may  rouse  these  to 

bitter  anger  and  personal  violence  against  himself.  If  God  will  pro- 
tect  him  from  this  violence,.  he  will  announce  the  praise  of  God,  and 
publish  God’s  mercy  to  the  world  (verse  17).  Possibly,  however, 

there  is  in  the  ‘  deeds  of  blood  '  a  reference  to  DavkPs  crime  against 

Urias,  and  David  promises  to  God  an  offering  of  thanking  and  praising 
song  if  God  will  pardon  him  his  crime. 

18-19.  If  God  wished  for  animal-sacrifices  as  thanksgiving 
offerings,  the  psalmist  would  offer  them  freely.  But  it  is  not  bloody 
sacrifices  that  God  desires,  but  only  the  offering  of  a  humbled  and 
penitential  spirit.  Cf.  Isaias  lvii.  15  ;  lxvi.  2. 

20-21.  An  addition  of  the  exilic  or  post-exilic  period. 

Sacrificium  justitia,  a  due  (legally  perfect)  sacrifice.  Oblationes, 
et  holocausta  ;  Hebrew  :  *  burnt-offering  and  whole  burnt-offering/ 
This  clause  looks  like  a  gloss  on  sacrificium  justitia. 

Note  the  situation  in  these  two  verses.  The  walls  of  Jerusalem 
are  in  ruins,  and  no  legal  sacrifices  are  being  offered.  But  if  the 
Lord  will  cause  the  city  walls  to  be  rebuilt,  He  will  be  honoured  once 
more  with  the  old-time  ritual  of  sacrifice. 


PSALM  LI 


THE  FATE  OF  SINNERS 


THE  psalm  is  directed  against  some  rich  and  powerful,  but 
godless  man.  It  threatens  him  with  failure  and  destruction, 
and  forecasts  the  joy  of  the  pious  at  his  fall.  The  psalmist 
himself  will  flourish  when  his  enemy  has  failed,  and  will 
praise  God  e  ver  for  His  goodness. 

Tradition  connects  the  psalm  with  the  incident  narrated  in  I  Kings 
xxii.  Doeg,  however,  neither  slanders,  nor  speaks  falsely,  nor  boasts 
of  any  malice  in  the  narrati  ve  in  Kings.  Again,  it  is  difhcult  to  under- 
stand  the  allusion  to  the  Temple  in  verse  io  in  a  Davidic  poem.  The 
psalm  has  been  compared  to  Isaias’  denunciation  of  Shebhna  (Isaias 
xxii.  15-25).  The  contrast  between  the  godless  who  comes  to  ruin, 
and  the  pious  singer  who  flourishes  like  a  green  oh  ve  tree,  reminds 
one  of  Psalm  i. 


1.  In  finem  Intellectus  David  1, 

2.  cum  venit  Doeg  Idumaeus  et 
nunciavit  Sauli :  Venit  David 
in  domum  Achimelech. 


3.  Quid  gloriaris  in  malitia,  3. 
qui  potens  es  in  iniquitate  ? 

4.  Tota  die  injustitiam  cogi-  4. 
tavit  lingua  tua  :  sicut  novacula 
acuta  fecisti  dolum. 

5.  Dilexisti  malitiam  super  5. 

benignitatem,  iniquitatem  magis 
quam  loqui  aequitatem. 

6.  Dilexisti  omnia  verba  prae-  6. 
cipitationis,  lingua  dolosa. 

7.  Propterea  Deus  destruet  te  7. 
in  finem  :  evellet  te,  et  emigra¬ 
bit  te  de  tabernaculo  tuo,  et 
radicem  tuam  de  terra  viven¬ 
tium. 

8.  Videbunt  justi,  et  time-  8. 

bunt,  et  super  eum  ridebunt, 

et  dicent : 

9.  Ecce  homo  qui  non  posuit  9. 
Deum  adjutorem  suum  : 

Sed  speravit  in  multitudine 
divitiarum  suarum  :  et  praeva¬ 
luit  in  vanitate  sua. 


2.  For  the  choir-leader.  A  maskil  of 
David,  when  Doeg  the  Edomite  came 
and  announced  to  Saul :  David  hath 
come  to  the  house  of  Achimelech. 


Why  boastest  thou  of  evil, 

Thou  strong  one  in  sin  ? 

Day  by  day  thy  tongue  deviseth  injusti  ce  ; 
Like  a  sharp  razor  thou  accomplishest 
mischief. 

Thou  speakest  evil  more  willingly  than 
good  ; 

Sin  rather  than  righteousness. 

Every  ruin-working  word  thou  lovest  ; 
Thou  deceitful  tongue  ! 


Therefore  shall  God  cast  thee  headlong 
for  ever  ; 

He  will  pluck  thee  forth,  and  drive  thee 
from  thy  dwelling  ; 

And  thy  root  from  the  land  of  the 
living  [He  will  tear]. 

The  righteous  will  see  it,  and  will  fear  ; 

And  they  shall  laugh  at  him,  and  say  : 

‘  There  is  a  man  who  toolc  not  God  as  his 
helper  ; 

But  trusted  in  his  great  wealth,  and 
felt  himself  strong  in  his  vain  pos- 
sessions.' 

189 


THE  PSALMS 


IQO 


10.  Ego  autem,  sicut  oliva  io. 
fructifera  in  domo  Dei,  speravi 

in  misericordia  Dei  in  aeternum  : 
et  in  saeculum  saeculi. 

11.  Confitebor  tibi  in  saecu-  ii. 
Ium,  quia  fecisti :  et  exspectabo 
nomen  tuum,  quoniam  bonum 

est  in  conspectu  sanctorum  tuo¬ 
rum. 


But  I,  like  a  fresh  olive-tree 
In  the  House  of  God, 

Trust  in  the  goodness  of  God 
For  ever  and  ever  ! 

I  will  thank  Thee  ever  because  Thou  hast 
done  it ; 

And  I  will  wait  for  Thy  Name, 

For  it  is  good  in  the  sight  of  Thy  pious 
ones. 


3.  The  Hebrew  has  : 

‘  Why  boastest  thou  of  evil,  O  hero  ? 

The  loving  kindness  of  God  doth  ever  abide.' 

The  f  hero  ’  is,  obviously,  ironical.  The  Latin  reads  the  word  for 
‘  hero  ’  {potens )  with  in  iniquitate,  c  Thou  strong  one  in  sin/  and  is 
also  to  be  understood  as  ironical,  or  sarcastic.  Doeg,  in  the  view  of 
the  author  of  the  superscription  to  this  psalm,  would  be  the  ‘  hero  * 
in  question,  and  he  would  well  ha  ve  deserved  the  sarcasm  of  the  text 
by  his  achievements  against  the  helpless  dwellers  of  Nob. 

In  the  second  lialf  of  verse  3  the  Hebrew  and  Vulgate  texts  differ 
greatly.  The  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  The  loving  kindness  of  God  doth  ever 
abide/  The  Greek  translators,  whom  the  Vulgate  follows,  read  the 
Hebrew  phrase  hesed  ’El  kol  hayyom,  ‘  the  loving  kindness  of  God 
doth  ever  abide/  as  if  it  were  hesda'  lekhol  hayyom.  They  took 
hesda'  in  the  Aramaic  sense  of  shame,  ignominy,  crime,  and  read  it 
with  the  preceding  word  haggibbor  (O  hero  !),  understanding  the 
phrase  as,  *  Thou  hero  in  sin  ’  :  the  lekhol  hayyom  they  read  with  the 
following  phrase  :  *  Alt  day,  thy  tongue  deviseth  injustice/  Thus 
the  word  for  *  God  ’  feli  out  altogether.  The  Hebrew  obviously 
means  :  ‘  It  is  idle  for  you  to  boast  of  your  crimes,  since,  after  alj, 
God  will  be  always  graciously  kind  to  your  victims/ 

4.  The  text  is  here  somewhat  disordered.  The  tota  die  belongs, 
as  was  said  in  regard  to  verse  3,  to  the  preceding  clause  :  ‘  The 
loving  kindness  of  God  doth  ever  (‘  all  day  ')  abide/  The  correct 
arrangement  of  the  Vulgate  would  be  (taking  tota  die  as  in  Hebrew)  : 

Injustitiam  cogitavit  lingua  tua  : 

Sicut  novacula  acuta  fecisti  dolum , 

The  tongue  is  said  to  ‘  de  vise  injustice  '  because  it  is  the  interpreter 
of  the  lieart  and  reveals  its  plannings.  Sicut  novacula  acuta  fecisti 
dolum  is  an  equivalent  parallel  to  the  first  part  of  the  verse.  The 
‘  sharp  razor  ’  suggests  the  unsparing  malice  of  an  evil  tongue,  and 
the  effectiveness  of  its  work  of  ‘  mischief/ ' 

5.  Dilexisti,  etc.  :  ‘  Thou  preferrest  evil  to  good/  Super  trans- 
lates  the  Hebrew  particle  of  comparison,  min. 

6.  Verba  prcecipitalionis ;  Hebrew,  ‘  words  of  swallowing  up/ 


THE  FATE  OF  SINNERS 


191 

i. e.  words  that  bring  destruction,  words  by  which  others  are  swallowed 
up,  as  in  an  ocean  (in  Greek,  KaraivorTurnos  of.  Ps.  liv.  9).  It 
is  best  to  take  lingua  dolosa,  in  spite  of  the  accusative  in  the  Greek 
text  (yAoWav  SoXlav),  as  a  vocative.  Compare  with  this  verse, 
Ps.  v.  10,  where  the  throat  of  the  godless  is  compared  to  an  open 
grave  (or  tomb). 

7.  In  finem  means  here,  ‘  for  ever  ’  ;  Hebrew  lanesah.  For 
radicem  we  must  supply  some  such  verb  as  evellet. 

With  this  verse  should  be  compared  the  threat  against  Shebhna 
in  Isaias  xxii.  17-18. 

‘  Behold,  Yahweh  will  sweep  thee  headlong,  O  man,  and  will 
rudely  seize  thee.  He  will  roll  thee  up  ;  He  will  roll  thee  up  into 
a  ball,  and  cast  thee  into  a  broad  land.  There  thou  shalt  die,  and 
thither  shall  come  thy  proud  chariots,  thou  shame  of  thy  master’s 
house  !  ’ 

8,  9.  The  just  will  see  the  fall  of  the  godless,  and  they  will  fear 
God  who  punishes  sin  :  then,  realising  how  foolish  it  is  to  put  one’s 
trust  in  fleeting  things,  they  will  laugh  at  the  fallen  one,  and  sing  a 
taunt-song  against  him.  There  is  a  specimen  of  such  a  taunt-song 
in  Isaias  xiv.  loff. 

Praevaluit  in  vanitate,  ‘  found  his  strength  in  a  futile,  empt}^  thing/ 
i. e.  his  wealth.  The  Hebrew,  however,  gives  the  sense  :  ‘  He  was 
strong  in  his  iniquity/  He  made  his  wealth  the  ground  of  his  con- 
fidence,  and  was  ready  to  commit  every  crime  to  make  secure  his 
position. 

10.  The  psalmist  speaks  of  himself  either  as  an  individual,  or 
as  the  representative  of  the  pious. 

Oliva  fructifera :  the  Hebrew  speaks  rather  of  a  flourishing, 
verdant  olive-tree  (Jerome  translates,  oliva  virens ).  A  similar  com- 
parison  is  made  in  Ps.  xci.  13-14. 

‘  The  righteous  buds  forth  like  the  palm  ; 

He  grows  like  a  cedar  of  Lebanon, 

Planted  in  the  House  of  Yahweh, 

In  the  Courts  of  Our  God  they  bud  forth. 

Even  when  old  they  bear  fruit, 

Are  stili  full  of  sap  and  grow  green/ 

Jeremias  describes  Israel  as  a  *  freshly  green  olive-tree  ’  (xi.  16). 
It  is  not  quite  ciear  whether  the  words  '  in  the  House  of  God  ’  are  to 
be  referred  immediately  to  the  psalmist,  or  to  the  clive-tree.  There 
may  ha  ve  been  olive-trees  in  the  precincts  of  the  Temple..  Such 
olive-trees,  if  they  existed,  would  be  naturally  regarded  as  enjoying 
God’s  very  special  care  and  protection.  The  flourishing  olive-tree 
reminds  us  of  the  tree  planted  by  the  irrigation  channels  of  Ps.  i 
‘  whose  foliage  faileth  not/ 

11.  Quia  fecisti  :  the  object  of  fecisti  has  to  be  supplied  from  the 


192 


THE  PSALMS 


context.  The  sense  is  :  ‘  Thou  hast  cast  down  the  godless  proud, 
and  hast  granted  to  me  security/ 

The  ‘  Name  ’  of  the  Lord  is  equivalent  to  the  revelation  of  His 
presence  by  acts  of  grace  and  mercy.  The  Name  is  good,  as  God 
Himself  is  good.  To  the  ‘  pious/  the  loyal  worshippers  of  God  and 
faithful  observers  of  His  Law,  the  4  Name  '  of  God  is  peculiarly 
good. 


PSALM  LII 


THE  FOOLS 

THIS  psalm  is  only  another  recension  of  Psalm  xiii.  It  is 
Elohistic  as  compared  with  Ps.  xiii,  which  is  Yahvistic, 
since  it  mostly  uses  'Elohim  where  the  earlier  psalm  uses 
Yahweh  ( Vid .  verses  3,  5,  6,  7).  The  collection  cf  Old 
Testament  texts  grouped  together  in  Romans  iii.  13-19,  and  trans- 
ferred  from  there  to  Ps.  xiii.  3,  is  here  omitted.  Psalm  lii  differs 
textually  from  the  earlier  recension  also  in  the  following  points.  In 
verse  2  iniquitatibus  of  lii  corresponds  to  in  studiis  of  xiii.  In  xiii.  2 
non  est  usque  ad  unum  is  added  :  -here  the  phrase  is  omitted.  In 
verse  4,  Ps.  xiii  has  nonne  cognoscent ;  here  we  have,  nonne  scient. 
In  xiii.  4  we  have  sicut  escam  panis  ;  in  lii.  5  ut  cibum  panis.  There 
is  considerable  difference  between  lii.  6  and  the  corresponding  verse 
of  Ps.  xiii.  The  title  of  Ps.  lii  differs  greatly  from  that  of  the  earlier 
psalm  :  here  we  have,  In  finem  pro  Maeleth  intelligentice  David  ;  in 
Ps.  xiii,  In  finem,  Psalmus  David.  Pro  Maeleth  (Hebrew  ‘al  mahfilath) 
may  be  a  reference  to  the  melody  according  to  which  the  psalm  was 
to  be  sung.  See  Ps.  xiii,  Intelligentia  represents  the  Hebrew  maskil. 
The  poem,  as  a  reflection  on  God’s  dealings  with  the  ‘  Fools/  is  very 
properly  described  as  a  maskil  (See  Ps.  xli,  xliii,  xlvi,  8).  Jerome 
renders  ‘al  mahHath,  per  chorum.  MahHath  may,  however,  be  the 
name  of  one  of  the  groups  of  Temple-singers,  so  that  the  superscrip- 
tion  might  mean  :  ‘  For  the  Choir-leader  of  the  Mahalath-gro\rp  : 
a  maskil  of  David/ 

1.  In  finem,  Pro  Maeleth  in- 
telligentiae  David. 

Dixit  insipiens  in  corde  suo  : 

Non  est  Deus. 

2.  Corrupti  sunt,  et  abomina¬ 
biles  facti  sunt  in  iniquitatibus  : 
non  est  qui  faciat  bonum. 

3.  Deus  de  coelo  prospexit 
super  filios  hominum  :  ut  videat 
si  est  intelligens,  aut  requirens 
Deum. 

4.  Omnes  declinaverunt,  si¬ 
mul  inutiles  facti  sunt :  non  est 
qui  faciat  bonum,  non  est  usque 
ad  unum. 


1 .  For  the  choir-leader.  According  to  Mach- 
alath.  A  maskil,  by  David. 


The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart : 

‘  There  is  no  God  ’ 

2 .  They  are  perverted  and  hateful  because  of 

their  evil  deeds  ; 

There  is  none  that  doth  good. 

3.  God  looketh  down  from  heaven 

On  the  children  of  men, 

*  To  see  if  there  is  one  that  understandeth 
Or  one  that  seeketh  after  God. 

4.  Ali  have  gone  astray  ;  all  have  become 

profitless  ; 

There  is  none  that  doth  good — no,  not 
even  one ! 


13 


193 


THE  PSALMS 


194 


5.  Nonne  scient  omnes  qui  5. 
operantur  iniquitatem,  qui  de¬ 
vorant  plebem  meam  ut  cibum 
panis  ? 

6.  Deum  non  invocaverunt  :  6. 

illic  trepidaverunt  timore,  ubi 
non  erat  timor. 

Quoniam  Deus  dissipavit  ossa 
eorum  qui  hominibus  placent  : 
confusi  sunt,  quoniam  Deus 
sprevit  eos. 


Have  not  all  evil-doers  experienced  it  ? — 
They  who  did  evil,  who  devoured  my 
people  like  a  meal(?)  of  bread  : 

They  who  invoked  not  God  ! 

Then  did  they  tremble  with  terror, 

When  there  was  no  real  cause  for  fear  ; 

For  God  scattereth  the  bones  of  them  that 
(seek  to)  please  men  : 

They  are  disgraced  because  God  hath 
rejected  them. 


7.  Quis  dabit  ex  Sion  salu¬ 
tare  Israel  ?  cum  converterit 
Deus  captivitatem  plebis  suae, 
exsultabit  Jacob,  et  laetabitur 
Israel. 


7.  O  that  rescue  for  Israel  would  come  from 
Sion  ! 

When  God  bringeth  back  the  captives 
of  His  people, 

Jacob  will  be  glad,  and  Israel  will  rejoice. 


6.  This  verse  is  very  different  from  the  corresponding  verse  in 
Ps.  xiii.  The  phrase,  ubi  non  erat  timor  is  found  in  the  Latin  text  of 
Ps.  xiii.  5  ;  there  is  no  corresponding  phrase  in  the  Hebre w  of  xiii.  5. 
In  Ps.  lii,  however,  the  clause  belongs  properly  both  to  Vulgate  and 
Hebrew.  The  second  half  of  verse  6  here  is  altogether  different  from 
Ps.  xiii.  6  ;  yet  a  comparison  of  the  Hebrew  consona ntal  text  in  both 
passages  suggests  that  both  have  come  from  a  single  original.  The 
‘  scattering  of  the  bones  of  them  that  seek  to  please  men  '  has  been 
explained  by  several  ccmmentators  as  referring  to  the  destruction  of 
Sanherib’s  army  (Isaias  xxxvii.  36).  Since  the  psalm  elsewhere  has 
in  view  the  godless  within  Israel  only,  the  possibility  of  a  reference 
to  Sanherib  in  verse  6  is  very  slight.  The  verse  reminds  one  of  the 
Pauline  saying  :  ‘  If  I  sought  to  please  men,  I  should  not  be  a  servant 
of  Christ  '  (Gal.  i.  10). 


PSALM  LIII 


A  PRAYER  AGAINST  RUTHLESS  FOES 


THE  psalmist  prays  for  help  against  violent  and  godless  foes  ; 
he  trusts  that  the  Lord  will  stand  by  him,  and  duly  requite 
his  adversaries.  He  will  offer  sacrifices  of  thanksgiving, 
and  will  praise  the  Lord  for  His  help  ;  and  his  heart  will 
rejoice  over  the  downfall  of  his  foes. 

The  second  verse  is  taken  bodily  from  I  Kings  xxiii.  19.  It 
represents  a  very  an  cient  tradi  tion  as  to  the  origin  of  the  psalm. 
Modern  criticism,  as  a  rule,  denies  the  Davidic  authorship  of  the 
poem,  and  finds  the  occasion  for  it  in  the  struggles  of  the  pions 
Israelites  of  the  post-exilic  period  against  those  who  rejected  the  Law. 


1.  In  finem,  In  carminibus 
intellectus  David,  (2)  cum  ve¬ 
nissent  Ziphaei  et  dixissent  ad 
Saul ;  Nonne  David  absconditus 
est  apud  nos  ? 

3.  Deus  in  nomine  tuo  salvum 
me  fac  :  et  in  virtute  tua  judica 
me. 

4.  Deus  exaudi  orationem  me¬ 
am  :  auribus  percipe  verba  oris 
mei. 

5.  Quoniam  alieni  insurrexe¬ 
runt  adversum  me,  et  fortes 
quaesierunt  animam  meam  :  et 
non  proposuerunt  Deum  ante 
conspectum  suum. 

6.  Ecce  enim  Deus  adjuvat 
me  :  et  Dominus  susceptor  est 
animae  meae. 

7.  Averte  mala  inimicis  meis  : 
et  in  veritate  tua  disperde  illos. 


1,  2.  For  the  choir-leader  ...  a  maskil  of 
David  ;  when  the  men  of  Ziph  had 
come  and  said  to  Saul :  ‘  Is  not 

David  in  hiding  amongst  us  ?  ’ 


3.  O  God,  by  Thy  Name  rescue  me  ! 

And  by  Thy  strength  procure  for  me 
justice  ! 

4.  O  God,  hear  my  prayer  ! 

Give  heed  to  the  words  of  my  mouth  ! 

5.  For  strangers  rise  up  against  me  ; 

And  mighty  ones  seek  after  my  life  ; 
They  keep  not  God  before  their  eyes. 


6.  But  lo  !  God  doth  help  me  ; 

And  the  Lord  is  the  support  of  my  life  ! 

7.  Tum  back  evil  upon  my  foes  ; 

And  in  Thy  faithfulness  scatter  them  ! 


8.  Voluntarie  sacrificabo  tibi, 
et  confitebor  nomini  tuo  Do¬ 
mine  :  quoniam  bonum  est : 

9.  Quoniam  ex  omni  tribula¬ 
tione  eripuisti  me  :  et  super  ini¬ 
micos  meos  despexit  oculus 
meus. 


8.  In  gladness  will  I  bring  Thee  offering  ; 

And  I  will  praise  Thy  Name,  for  it  is 
good  ! 

9.  For,  from  every  strait  Thou  rescuest  me  ! 

And  my  eye  doth  feast  itself  upon  my 
foes  ! 


t 


1.  In  carminibus ;  Hebrew,  '  with  stringed  instmments/  For 
maskil  see  Ps.  xlvi.  8. 


195 


196 


THE  PSALMS 


3.  In  nomine  tuo  may  mean,  ‘  for  the  sake  of  Thy  name  ’ ;  or, 
it  may  be  practically  equivalent  to  in  virtute  tua,  ‘  by  Thy  strength/ 
Judica,  *  procure  for  me  justice.’ 

5.  Alieni,  ‘  enemies  '  {cf.  cviii.  11 ;  xvii.  46  ;  cxliii.  7).  Probably, 
however,  the  true  Hebrew  reading  here  is  zedim,  ‘  violent  ones/ 
{cf.  xviii.  14  fOr  the  same  confusion  of  two  readings  zarim,  ‘  strangers/ 
and  zedim,  ‘  violent  ones  *  :  Ab  alienis  parce  servo  tuo).  Cf.  Ps.  lxxxv. 
14.  The  enemies,  or  violent  ones  give  no  thought  to  God  :  they 
act  as  if  there  were  no  God. 

6.  The  Hebrew  has,  ‘  Behold,  God  is  my  helper  ;  He  is  among 
those  who  sustain  me  — from  which  it  might  appear  as  if  God  were 
only  one  helper  among  many.  There  is,  however,  no  need  to  suggest 
that  the  Vulgate  text  is  here  better  than  the  Massoretic,  for  the 
Hebrew  construction  is  idiomatic,  and  is  exactly  equivalent  in  meaning 
to  the  Latin  {cf.  Jud.  xi.  35). 


PSALM  LIV 


IMPIOUS  FOES,  AND  A  DISLOYAL  FRIEND 

THE  psalmist,  persecuted  by  his  enemies,  turns  to  God  in 
prayer.  Fear  and  dread  have  befallen  him.  He  would, 
if  id  were  possible,  lea  ve  the  city  where  he  lives  and  dwell 
in  the  lonely  desert.  There  is  naught  but  confli ct  and 
confusion  about  him.  Foremost  among  the  psalmisfs  enemies  is 
one  who  was  formerly  his  intimate  personal  friend.  He  prays  for 
the  speedy  destruction  of  ali  his  foes.  Again  he  pleads  for  help,  for 
his  enemies  are  much  more  numerous  than  his  friends  :  there  is  no 
hope  that  his.  foes  will  change  their  attitude.  Best  of  all  then  were 
their  utter  defeat.  They  may  think  that  God  will  deal  with  them 
lightly ;  but  they  will  be  disappointed.  In  the  two  concluding 
verses  the  psalmist  exhorts  himself  to  trust  confidently  in  God  ;  his 
enemies  will  have  but  a  short  time  of  apparent  victory,  for  they  will 
not  live  to  half  the  normal  length  of  life. 

There  is  the  same  complaint  here  as  in  Ps.  xl.  io  about  the  dis- 
loyalty  of  a  former  friend.  Those  who  maintain  the  Davidic  author- 
ship  of  the  poem  refer  both  Ps.  xl  and  this  psalm  to  the  period  of 
AbsalonTs  rebellion.  The  faithless  friend  has  often  been  identified 
with  Achitophel.  But  David  would  scarcely  call  Achitophel  his 
intimate  equal,  “  of  like  mind  with  himself,  his  leader  and  trusty 
friend.”  The  reference  to  the  House  of  God  is  a  difliculty  for  the 
Davidic  origin  of  the  psalm.  Modern  critics  have  suggested  the  time 
of  Jeremias,  or  the  Maccabean  age  as  a  more  likely  date  for  its  ap- 
pearance  than  the  time  of  David.  The  condition  of  Jerusalem 
supposed  in  the  psalm  was  not  peculiar  to  any  period.  C/.  for  instance, 
Isaias  v.  7-14.  The  tone  of  the  psalm  is  much  too  passionate  and 
personal  to  permit  of  its  being  regarded  as  a  national,  or  communal 
poem.  • 


1.  For  the  choir-leader.  With  stringed  in- 
struments  :  a  maskil  of  David. 


1.  In  finem,  In  carminibus  * 
intellectus  David. 


2.  Exaudi  Deus  orationem 
meam,  et  ne  despexeris  depre¬ 
catione  meam  :  (3)  intende 

mihi,  et  exaudi  me. 

Contristatus  sum  in  exercita-: 
tione  mea  :  et  conturbatus  sum 


2.  Hear,  O  God,  my  prayer, 

And  despise  not  my  petition  ! 

3.  Give  heed  to  me  and  hear  me  ! 

I  am  sad  when  I  think, 


197 


THE  PSALMS 


198 

4.  A  voce  inimici,  et  a  tribula¬ 
tione  peccatoris. 

Quoniam  declinaverunt  in  me 
iniquitates  :  et  in  ira  molesti 
erant  mihi. 

5.  Cor  meum  conturbatum 
est  in  me  :  et  formido  mortis  ' 
cecidit  super  me. 

6.  Timor  et  tremor  venerunt 
super  me:  et  contexerunt  me 
tenebrae. 

7.  Et  dixi :  Quis  dabit  mihi 
pennas  sicut  columbae,  et  volabo, 
et  requiescam  ? 

8.  Ecce  elongavi  fugiens  :  et 
mansi  in  solitudine. 

9.  Exspectabam  eum,  qui  sal¬ 
vum  me  fecit  a  pusillanimitate 
spiritus  et  tempestate. 

10.  Praecipita  Domine,  divide 
linguas  eorum  :  quoniam  vidi 
iniquitatem,  et  contradictionem 
in  civitate. 

11.  Die  ac  nocte  circumdabit 
eam  super  muros  ejus  iniquitas  : 

12.  Et  labor  in  medio  ejus,  et 
injustitia. 

Et  non  defecit  de  plateis  ejus 
usura,  et  dolus. 

13.  Quoniam  si  inimicus  meus 
maledixisset  mihi,  sustinuissem 
utique. 

Et  si  is,  qui  oderat  me,  super 
me  magna  locutus  fuisset :  ab¬ 
scondissem  me  forsitan  ab  eo. 

14.  Tu  vero  homo  unanimis  : 
dux  meus,  et  notus  meus. 

15.  Qui  simul  mecum  dulces 
capiebas  cibos  :  in  domo  Dei 
ambulavimus  cum  consensu. 

16.  Veniat  mors  super  illos  : 
et  descendant  in  infernum  vi¬ 
ventes  : 

Quoniam  nequitiae  in  habita¬ 
culis  eorum  :  in  medio  eorum. 

17.  Ego  autem  ad  Deum  cla¬ 
mavi  :  et  Dominus  salvabit  me. 

18.  Vespere,  et  mane,  et  meri¬ 
die  narrabo  et  annuntiabo  :  et 
exaudiet  vocem  meam. 

19.  Redimet  in  pace  animam 
meam  ab  his,  qui  appropinquant 
mihi  :  quoniam  inter  multos 
erant  mecum. 

20.  Exaudiet  Deus,  et  humi¬ 
liabit  illos,  qui  est  ante  saecula. 

Non  enim  est  illis  commuta¬ 
tio,  et  non  timuerunt  Deum  : 


4.  And  I  am  in  dismay  at  the  words  of  my 

enemy  ; 

And  at  the  oppression  of  sinners. 

For  they  pile  misfortunes  on  me, 

And  with  fury  they  attack  me  ! 

5.  My  heart  is  shaken  within  me, 

And  the  anguish  of  death  hath  come 
upon  me ; 

6.  Fear  and  trembling  overcome  me  ; 

And  darkness  envelopeth  me. 

7.  (And  I  say)  Had  I  but  the  wings  of  a  do  ve, 

I  would  fly  away,  and  find  rest. 

8.  Behold,  I  would  fly  far  away. 

And  dwell  in  the  desert ! 

9.  I  would  wait  for  Him  who  will  rescue  me 

From  cowardice  and  from  tempest. 


10.  O  Lord,  confuse  and  divide  their  tongues  ! 
For  I  see  sin  and  conflict  in  the  city  : 


11.  Day  and  night  doth  sin  encompass  it 

Upon  its  walls. 

12.  Mischief  is  in  its  midst,  and  injustice ; 
From  its  streets  depart  not 

Usury  and  deceit. 

13.  For,  had  my  enemy  slandered  me, 

I  surely  could  have  borne  it. 

And  if  he  who  hateth  me  had  spoken  arro- 
gantly  against  me, 

I  could  have  hidden  from  him. 

14.  But  it  was  thou — thou  man  of  like  mind 

with  myself, 

My  leader  and  trusted  friend, 

15.  Thou  who  didst  eat  sweet  meats  with  me  ! 

And  yet,  we  used  to  enter  in  friendship 
into  the  House  of  God  ! 

16.  May  death  overtake  them  : 

May  they  go  down  ali  ve  to  Sheol. 

For  malice  is  (in  their  dwellings),  in 
the  midst  of  them. 


17.  I  call  on  God, 

And  the  Lord  will  save  me  ! 

18.  Evening  and  morning  and  noon, 

Will  I  teli  (Him)  and  keep  it  before 
(Him)  : 

And  He  will  hear  my  voice  ; 

19.  He  will  rescue  me  in  peace 
From  them  that  come  against  me  : 

For  many  indeed  were  they  about  me. 

20.  God  will  hear  me,  and  He  will  humble 

them — 

Who  was  before  the  ages. 

For  with  them  there  is  no  change, 

They  fear  not  God. 


IMPIOUS  FOES 


l99 


21.  He  stretcheth  forth  His  hand  to  make 
requital, 

For  they  have  defiled  His  covenant. 


21.  Extendit  manum  suam  in 
retribuendo. 

Contaminaverunt  testamen¬ 
tum  ejus, 

22.  Divisi  sunt  ab  ira  vultus  22. 

ejus :  et  appropinquavit  cor 
illius. 

Molliti  sunt  sermones  ejus 
super  oleum  :  et  ipsi  sunt  jacula. 

23.  Jacta  super  Dominum  cu-  23. 
ram  tuam,  et  ipse  te  enutriet  : 

non  dabit  in  aeternum  fluctua¬ 
tionem  justo. 

24.  Tu  vero  Deus  deduces  24. 

eos,  in  puteum  interitus. 

Viri  sanguinum,  et  dolosi  non 
dimidiabunt  dies  suos :  ego 
autem  sperabo  in  te  Domine. 


They  are  cleft  by  His  glance  of  wrath  ; 

And  near  (to  them)  cometh  His  anger. 
His  words  are  softer  than  oil ; 

And,  yet,  they  are  arrows. 


Cast  on  the  Lord  thy  care. 

And  He  will  preserve  thee  ! 

He  will  ne  ver  permit  the  just 
To  be  tossed  about. 

But  Thou,  O  God,  wilt  cast  them  down 
Into  the  deepest  pit. 

Murderers  and  men  of  treachery 
Will  not  attain 
Unto  the  half  of  their  days  ; 

But  I  put  my  trust  in  Thee,  O  Lord  ! 


1.  In  carminibus  :  Hebrew,  ‘  on  stringed  insjruments/ 

3.  Exercitatio.  ‘  thinking  *  (according  to  Hebrew  and  Greek). 

Declinaverunt ;  cf.  Ps.  xx.  12  ;  Jerome  has  :  projecerunt  super  me 
iniquitatem.  The  verb  is  used  both  transitively  and  intransitively. 

6.  Tenebrce ;  Hebrew,  ‘  shuddering/  The  ‘  darkness  ’  would  be 
a  symbol  of  grief  and  misfortune. 

7.  Quis  dabit  is  the  familiar  Hebrew  idiom,  ‘  O  that  I  had  !  ' 
With  this  verse  and  with  the  psalm  generally,  should  be  compared 
the  passage  in  Jeremias  ix.  1 f.  : 

‘  O  that  I  had  in  the  wilderness  a  wayfarer’s  shelter 
I  would  forsake  my  people  and  go  forth  from  them. 

For  they  are  ali  adulterers,  a  band  of  traitors  ’ 

They  stretch  their  tongue,  like  a  bow,  with  lies  ; 

And  not  by  truth  are  they  powerful  in  the  land  ; 

For,  from  evil  to  evil  they  advance, 

And  me  they  know  not,’ — so  speaketh  Yahweh. 

8.  Elongavi  fugiens,  another  common  Hebrew  idiom,  ‘  fly  far 
away/  For  parallels  to  this  construction,  see  I  Kings  i.  12,  ‘  She 
did  much  in  respect  of  praying  ’=she  prayed  much  :  IV  Kings  ii.  10, 
‘  Thou  hast  done  hardly  in  respect  of  asking  ’=thou  hast  asked  a 
hard  thing  :  Ps.  lxxvii.  38,  Et  abundavit  ut  averteret. 

David  might  readily  be  imagined  as  fervently  uttering  such  a 
wish  as  he  was  about  to  fly  from  Jerusalem  during  AbsalonFs  rebellion. 

9.  Pusillanimitas  spiritus  seems  to  mean  cowardice.  Tempestas 
must  then  mean  turbulence  of  mind.  The  Hebrew  is  simpler  :  "  I 
would  hasten  to  that  shelter  of  mine  from  the  stormy  wind  and  the 
tempest.”  The  Hebrew  so'ah  ( storm ),  must  have  been  read  by  the 
Greek  translators  as  so‘ah  (‘  cast  down).  Ruah  so(ah  would  mean  a 
spirit  depressed.  Ruah  so' ah  means  storm-wind. 

10.  Prcecipita,  ‘  hurl  headlong/ 


200 


THE  PSALMS 


Divide  linguas,  confuse  their  *  pians/  ‘  break  up  their  unanimity/ 
There  is  an  allusion  obviously  to  the  confusion  of  Babel,  Gen.  x.  25. 

Contradictio,  ‘  conflict  and  confusion  ’  ;  it  is  sometimes  explained 
as  the  chaotic  confusion  caused  by  AbsalonTs  rebellion.  The  city 
would  be  Jerusalem.  The  whole  ordered  life  of  the  city  has  ceased  ; 
it  is  invested,  as  it  were,  by  iniquity,  or,  the  sense  may  be  that  Sin 
is  the  sentinel  on  its  walls.  and  within  its  walls  is  every  sort  of  treachery 
and  dishonesty.  Even  the  treachery  of  dishonest  trading — that 
curse  of  ancient  Jewish  life,  is  prominently  present. 

13.  The  bitter  enmity  of  strangers  would  be  tolerable  ;  but  here 
one  of  the  chief  enemies  is  an  old  friend.  The  pathos  of  the  verse 
is  intensified  by  the  absence  of  an  apodosis. 

14.  Unanimis,  ‘  of  like  mind/  a  comrade  ;  Hebrew,  '  of  like  rank/ 

Dux ;  Hebrew,  friend,  comrade.  The  Greek  translators  took 

' alluph ,  mistakenly  as=‘  leader/ 

15.  Dulces  .  .  .  cibos  :  the  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  we  kept  up  a  sweet 
companionship/  Jerome  translates  :  Simul  habuimus  dulce  secretum. 
The  Hebrew  sod  means  conversation,  intercourse.  The  translation 
‘  food  ’  seems  to  be  due  to  a  confusion  with  the  Hebrew  sod  (to  hunt, 
or  fish  :  sayid,  venison). 

Ambulavimus,  *  we  walked  cum  consensu  (as  friends)  in  the  pro- 
cessions  to  the  Temple  ’  (David  could  not  have  walked  to  the  Temple 
but  he  could  have  walked  to  the  Tabernacle,  God’s  dwelling).  For 
in  consensu  the  Hebrew  has  :  *  in  the  throng/  i. e.  the  festive  throng 
in  God's  house. 

16.  This  curse  comes  in  here  with  the  abruptness  of  passion. 
Note  that  the  psalmisfs  enemies  are  cursed  because  of  their  sin. 
The  ‘  living  '  implies  the  suddenness  of  the  disaster.  Cf.  the  fate  of 
the  Ko rachites  Num.  xvi.  33.  With  the  curse  here  cf.  I  Cor.  xvi.  22 
and  Gal.  v.  12. 

17.  The  psalmist  contrasts  his  fate  with  theirs. 

18.  Evening,  morning,  noon  were  the  times  of  liturgical  prayer. 

Narrabo  and  annuntiabo  have  ‘  my  prayer  ’  for  object. 

19.  Redimet  in  pace,  ‘  He  will  rescue  me  so  that  I  shall  have  peace 
from  trouble/ 

Appropinquare  has  here  a  hostile  sense. 

Inter  pluros,  Hebrew,  berabbim,  which  means  simply,  f  many/ 
The  preposition  is  the  so-called  beth-essentice.  The  reference  is  to 
the  enemy. 

Mecum  either,  about  me,  or,  in  conflict  with  me. 

20.  No  change  for  the  better  can  be  expected  from  them.  But 
the  Greek  dvrdXXayua,  =  exchange,  rather  than  change.  The  Hebrew 
Jfliphoth  suggests  also  the  idea  of  exchange,  cr  substitution  (cf. 
Caliph,  which  comes  from  similar  root  in  Arabie).  It  is  possible  that 
the  Hebrew  text  is  corrupt  here.  The  translation  above  gives  an 
intelligible  sense  to  the  Latin.  (Augustine  accepts  the  same  sense). 


IMPIOUS  FOES 


201 


21,  22.  Have  we  two  subjects  here,  God  for  extendit,  and  the 
enemy  for  contaminaverunt  ?  The  Hebrew  makes  the  enemy  the 
subject  throughout  verses  21  and  22,  and  that  is  the  natural  sense 
of  the  passage.  Since,  however,  we  must  translate  the  Vulgate  as 
it  stands,  we  have  done  so  above,  making  God  the  subject  of  extendit. 
In  retribuendo  refers,  then,  to  God’s  requital  of  the  malice  of  the 
enemy. 

Divisi  sunt.’,  the  glance  of  God’s  anger  has  cleft  them,  as  it  were, 
in  twain.  His  anger  (cor  illius)  advances  against  (appropinquavit ; 
cf.  v.  19)  them  .  It  is  difficult  to  explain  in  the  Vulgate  the  sermones 
ejus.  Are  they  God’s  words  ?  Our  general  explanation  would  not 
make  that  view  necessary.  It  is  possible  to  take  them  as  the  words 
of  the  enemy,  and  to  understand  the  phrase  as  a  special  description 
of  the  treachery  of  the  faithless  friend.  His  words  are  smooth,  but 
they  are  sharp  arrows  ;  or,  his  words  are  smooth  but  they  become 
for  himself  arrows,  i. e.  come  back  on  himself.  The  words  of  AchitopheI 
did,  in  this  way,  come  back  upon  himself  and  his  party.  The  Vulgate 
departs  quite  from  the  Hebrew  here.  Cf.  Jerome  :  Nitidius  butyro 
os  ejus,  pugnat  autem  cor  illius.  The  Hebrew,  slightly  emended,  runs  : 

*  His  face  is  smoother  than  butter,  his  heart  planneth  war  ; 

Softer  than  oil  is  his  word,  yet  is  it  a  sword.’ 

23.  The  psalmist  encourages  himself. 

Fluctuatio,  is  not  ‘  uncertainty  ’  but  ‘  insecurity  ' — the  possibility 
of  being  pushed  out  of  one’s  place.  God  will  not  allow  the  just 
to  be  disturbed. 

24.  Puteus  interitus,  the  grave. 

Non  dimidiabunt,  ‘  they  shall  not  live  half  the  normal  length  of 
life  — implying  suddenness  and  uncertainty  of  death.  Cf.  Jeremias 
xvii.  10  : 


‘  Like  a  bird  that  hatcheth  what  it  hath  not  laid, 

Is  he  that  gathereth  wealth  unjustly  ; 

At  the  half  of  his  days  he  must  abandon  it ; 

And  at  the  end  of  his  days  he  is  a  fool  !  ' 

Ps.  ci.  25  :  Ne  revoces  me  in  dimidio  dierum  meorum  ;  Isaias  xxxviin 
10  :  In  dimidio  dierum  meorum  vadam  ad  portas  inferi. 


PSALM  LV 


IN  GOD  I  PUT  MY  TRUST ! 


^TlHE  psalmist  prays  for  help  against  numerous  and  bitter 
|j  enemies  who  seek  his  life.  He  trusts  confidently  to  God 
who  has  promised  not  to  forget  his  tears  ;  and  he  hopes 
to  be  able  to  offer  soon  the  thanksgiving-sacrifice  which 
he  has  vowed  to  God  for  his  safety.  The  refrain  in  verses  5  and  11 
is  the  psalmist ’s  cry  when  things  look  darkest  :  he  is  sure  that  in 
the  near  future,  as  in  the  past,  the  confidence  of  that  cry  will  be  seen 
to  be  justified. 

The  ancient  tradition  associates  this  poem  with  DavkTs  sojoum 
in  Gath.  In  I  Kings  xxi.  13  it  is  said  that  David  was  afraid  when 
he  heard  the  words  of  the  Philistine  leaders  and  feigned  madness 
before  King  Achish  (cf.  Ps.  xxxiii.  1).  The  *  fear  ’  of  David  in  Gath, 
and  the  fourth  verse  of  this  psalm  fit  well  together.  There  is  nothing 
else  in  the  psalm  to  suggest  in  any  way  Davidic  authorship. 


1.  In  finem,  pro  populo  qui  1. 

a  Sanctis  longe  factus  est, 

David  in  tituli  inscriptionem, 
cum  tenuerunt  eum  Allophyli  in 
Geth. 

2.  Miserere  mei  Deus,  quo-  2. 

niam  conculcavit  me  homo  : 

tota  die  impugnans  tribulavit 

me. 

3.  Conculcaverunt  me  inimici  3. 
mei  tota  die  :  quoniam  multi 
bellantes  adversum  me. 

4.  Ab  altitudine  diei  timebo  :  4. 

ego  vero  in  te  sperabo. 

5.  In  Deo  laudabo  sermones  5. 
meos,  in  Deo  speravi :  non 
timebo  quid  faciat  mihi  caro. 

6.  Tota  die  verba  mea  exse-  6. 
crabantur  :  adversum  me  omnes 
cogitationes  eorum  in  malum. 

7.  Inhabitabunt  et  abscon-  7. 

dent :  ipsi  calcaneum  meum  ob¬ 
servabunt. 

Sicut  sustinuerunt  animam 
meam, 

8.  pro  nihilo  salvos  facies  8. 

illos  :  in  ira  populos  confringes. 


For  the  choir-leader,  .  .  .  by  David. 
A  .  .  .  when  the  Philistines  held 
him  captive  in  Gath. 


Be  gracious  to  me,  O  God,  for  men  do 
trample  upon  me  ! 

Every  day  do  they  attack  and  oppress 
me. 

My  enemies  do  trample  on  me  without 
ceasing  ; 

Many,  indeed,  are  they  who  fight 
against  me  ! 

Of  the  noon-day  I  am  afraid  ; 

But  I  put  my  trust  in  Thee. 

In  God  I  boast  of  my  saying  : 

‘  In  God  I  trust ;  I  fear  not 

What  flesh  may  do  to  me.’ 


Every  day  they  curse  my  words  ; 

All  their  devising  is  against  me,  unto 
harm  : 

They  secretly  encompass  me  : 

They  watch  my  footsteps. 

For  they  demand  my  life. 


For  no  consideration  shalt  Thou  preserve 
them  ! 

In  Thy  anger  Thou  shalt  shatter  the 
peoples  ! 


202 


IN  GOD  I  PUT  MY  TRUST 


203 


9.  Deus,  vitam  meam  annun-  9. 
tiavi  tibi  :  posuisti  lacrimas 
meas  in  conspectu  tuo. 

Sicut  et  in  promissione  tua  : 

10.  Tunc  convertentur  inimici  10. 
mei  retrorsum  : 

In  quacumque  die  invocavero 
te  :  ecce  cognovi  quoniam  Deus 
meus  es. 

11.  In  Deo  laudabo  verbum, 
in  Domino  laudabo  sermonem  : 
in  Deo  speravi,  non  timebo  quid 
faciat  mihi  homo. 


12.  In  me  sunt  Deus  vota  12. 

tua,  quae  reddam,  laudationes 
tibi. 

13.  Quoniam  eripuisti  ani-  13. 

mam  meam  de  morte,  et  pedes 
meos  de  lapsu  :  ut  placeam  co¬ 
xam  Deo  in  lumine  viventium. 


O  God,  I  make  known  my  life  to  Thee  ; 
My  tears  Thou  dost  set  before  Thee, 
As  Thou  hast  promised. 

My  enemies  fall  back, 

When  I  call  on  Thee  ; 

For  I  know  that  Thou  art  my  God. 


I  am  bound  by  vows  towards  Thee,  O 
God, 

Which  I  shall  fulfil  to  Thy  praise  ! 
For  Thou  hast  rescued  my  soul  from 
death, 

And  my  feet  from  slipping  ; 

So  that  I  may  find  favour  with  God, 

In  the  light  of  the  living  ! 


11.  In  God  I  boast  of  the  word 

In  the  Lord  I  boast  of  the  saying  : 
‘  In  God  I  trust :  I  fear  not 
What  man  may  do  to  me.’ 


1.  The  title  is  more  than  usually  obscure.  Pro  populo  .  .  .  . 
Jactus  est  is,  perhaps,  the  name  of  the  melody  to  which  the  psalm 
was  to  be  sung.  Greek  and  Hebrew  here  go  apart,  and  the  Vulgate 
follows,  as  usual,  the  Greek  which  apparently  saw  in  these  words, 
not  the  melody  according  to  which  the  psalm  was  to  be  sung,  but  the 
circumstances  for  which  the  psalm  was  appropriate — viz.  the  absence 
of  the  people  from  the  Sanctuary  during  the  Exile.  The  Hebrew 
text  of  the  superscription  is  usually  rendered  thus  :  ‘  For  the  choir- 
leader,  according  to  “  The  dove  of  far-away  terebinthe/'  a  Mikhtam 
by  David,  when  the  Philistines  held  him  captive  in  Gath/ 

In  tituli  inscriptionem  corresponds  to  the  Hebrew  mikhtam.  The 
•special  nature  of  the  mikhtam- poem  is  not  known  to  us.  The  Greek 
translators  would  seem  to  ha  ve  read  mikhtahh,  ‘  a  thing  written/ 
‘  an  inscription’  (c/.  Ps.  xv  and  the  psalms  lvi-lix).  The  (rrrikoypapla. 
of  the  Greek  suggests  something  suitable  for  engraving  on  a  stele, 
something,  therefore,  well  deserving  of  rememb rance.  The  Allophyli 
are  the  Philistines  who  are  nearly  always  so  styled  in  the  Greek  text. 
Jeromes  version  of  this  psalm-title  is  worth  noting  :  Victori  pro 
columba  muta,  eo  quod  procul  abierit  David  humilis  et  simplex  (Jerome 
reads  mikhtam  as  two  words,  makh,  humble,  and  tam,  simple  or  per- 
fect)  quando  tenuerunt  eum  Palestini  in  Geth. 

4  .Ab  altitudine  diei.  The  Greek  translators  seem  to  have  divided 
the  Hebrew  consonantal  text  wrongly  here.  Besides,  the  Hebrew 
text  is  here  uncertain.  The  only  reasonable  sense  of  the  Vulgate  is 
that  suggested  above  in  the  translation.  The  “  height  of  the  day  " 
would  be  the  full  brightness  of  day  and,  therefore,  noon-day.  So, 
watched  and  surrounded  by  foes  as  he  is,  the  psalmist  does  not  ven¬ 
ture  forth  in  the  full  light  of  day. 


204 


THE  PSALMS 


5.  The  sermones  in  question  are  the  words  which  appear  in  this 
verse  and  in  verse  11  (with  homo  for  caro).  We  should  read  In  Deo 
speravi  .  .  .  caro  in  inverted  commas.  This  saying  is  the  psalmist 's 
philosophy  of  life,  and  events  have  always  justified  it  for  him.  So 
it  will  be  in  the  future. 

6.  It  is  possible  that  the  verba  here  are,  or  include,  the  sermones 
of  verse  5. 

7.  Inhabitabunt :  Jerome  has  congregabuntur.  The  Hebrew*  is 
uncertain.  We  must  explain  the  Latin  as,  ‘  they  gather  together.’ 
Et  abscondent  may  be  taken  with  inhabitabunt  as  a  sort  of  an  adverb, 

‘  secretly/ 

Calcaneum  observabunt ,  like  hunters  tracking  game. 

Sicut  sustinuerunt,  Jerome  translates  :  expectantes  animam  meam . 

Sustinere,  ‘  to  wait  for,'  either  in  hostile  sense  (as  here),  or  in 
the  hope  of  help  ( cf .  lxviii.  21). 

8.  Pro  nihilo,  ‘  on  no  account,'  ‘  for  no  considera  tion.'  The 
Hebrew  reads,  with  the  insertion  of  the  negative  ’en :  ‘  Because  of 
iniquity  there  is  no  escape  for  them.  In  wrath  cast  down  the  nations, 
O  God  ! ' 

9.  Vitam  meam,  ‘  my  aetual  condition.' 

Posuisti  ...  in  conspectu  lacrymas  meas,  ‘  Thou  hast  put  before 
Thee  my  tears.'  God  might  be  regarded  in  general  as  having  promised 
to  do  this.  The  Hebrew  is  different  :  ‘  Thou  hast  reckoned  my 
misery(?)  :  my  tears  have  been  put  in  Thy  bottle.  Are  they  not 
in  Thy  Book  ?  ’ 

10?  The  confidence  of  the  psalmist  :  he  knows  that  when  he  really 
turns  in  need  to  God,  his  prayers  will  have  effect. 

11.  The  verbum  and  'sermo  are  as  in  verse  5  :  ‘I  put  my  trust  in 
God  :  I  have  no  fear  of  anything  that  mere  mortal  man  can  do  to 
me.' 

12.  The  psalmist  feels  now  that  he  must  forthwith  fulfil  the  vows 
to  God  which  he  made  for  his  rescue  when  he  was  in  perii.  Has  he 
then  been  already  rescued  from  the  perii  ?  Verse  13  suggests  that 
he  has.  But,  possibly,  we  have  here  merely  a  confident  expectation 
of  what  is  about  to  happen.  Having  called  on  God  for  help,  he  is 
certain  of  rescue.  His  life  will  be  lengthened,  and  he  will  walk  in 
God's  favour  in  the  light  of  the  living  i. e.  the  land  of  the  living  as 
opposed  to  Sheol  {cf.  Ps.  cxiv.  8,  9  for  a  repetition  of  this  verse). 


PSALM  LVI 


IN  GOD  I  HAVE  NO  FEAR! 


THIS  psalm  is  closely  related  to  the  preceding,  both  in  its  form 
and  content.  The  psalmist  calls  on  the  Lord  for  help  against 
the  cruel  enemies  among  whom  he  is  forced  to  live.  He  is 
confident  that,  through  the  help  of  the  Lord,  the  schemes  of 
his  foes  will  be  turned  back  against  themselves.  In  this  spirit  of 
confidence  he  praises  the  goodness  and  faithfulness  of  the  Lord  in 
the  midst  of  his  foes  and,  apparently,  among  the  heathens.  The 
refrain  in  verses  6  and  12  is  used  in  the  same  way  as  the  refrain  of 
the  preceding  psalm. 

The  situation,  which,  according  to  tradition,  supplied  the  occasion 
for  the  psalm  is  either  the  flight  of  David  to  the  cave  of  Adullam 
(I  Kings  xxii.  1),  or  his  flight  to  Engedi  (I  Kings  xxiv.  1).  The  only 
internal  difflculty  against  Davidic  authorship  is  verse  10.  It  is 
difflcult  to  suppose  David  singing,  or  promising  to  sing,  the  goodness 
of  Yahweh  among  the  Gentiles.  The  verse,  however,  might  be 
explained  Davidically,  if  it  were  regarded  as  a  prophecy  that  this 
psalm  would  become  known  among  the  Gentiles. 


1.  In  finem,  ne  disperdas,  1. 
David  in  tituli  inscriptionem 
cum  fugeret  a  facie  Saul  in 
speluncam. 

2.  Miserere  mei  Deus,  mise-  2. 
rere  mei  :  quoniam  in  te  con¬ 
fidit  anima  mea. 

Et  in  umbra  alarum  tuarum 
sperabo,  donec  transeat  ini¬ 
quitas. 

3.  Clamabo  ad  Deum  altissi-  3. 

mum :  Deum  qui  benefecit 

mihi. 

4.  Misit  de  coelo,  et  liberavit  4. 
me  :  dedit  in  opprobrium  con¬ 
culcantes  me. 

Misit  Deus  misericordiam  su¬ 
am,  et  veritatem  suam, 

5.  Et  eripuit  animam  meam  5. 
de  medio  catulorum  leonum 
dormivi  conturbatus. 

Filii  hominum  dentes  eorum 
arma  et  sagittae et  lingua 
eorum  gladius  acutus. 


For  the  choir-leader.  According  to  (the 
melody) '  Destroy  not.’  By  David  : 
a  mikhtam,  when  he  fled  to  the  cave 
from  Saul. 


Be  gracious  to  me,  O  God,  be  gracious 
to  me, 

For  in  Thee  my  soul  trusteth  ! 

And  in  the  protection  of  Thy  wings  I 
have  confidence, 

Until  destruction  passeth  by. 

I  cry  unto  God,  Most  High, 

To  God,  my  Benefactor, 

He  sendeth  from  heaven  and  rescueth  me; 

He  giveth  up  to  shame  my  oppressors. 

God  sendeth  His  Loving-kindness  and 
His  Truth, 

And  rescueth  me  from  out  the  midst  of 
the  young  lions, 

Where  I  lay  overwhelmed  with  dread ; 

Men  there  were  whose  teeth  were  spears 
and  darts. 

And  whose  tongue  was  a  sharp  sword  ! 

205 


20  6 


THE  PSALMS 


6.  Exaltare  super  coelos  De-  6. 

us :  et  in  omnem  terram 

gloria  tua. 

7.  Laqueum  paraverunt  pedi-  7. 
bus  meis :  et  incurvaverunt 
animam  meam. 

Foderunt  ante  faciem  meam 
foveam  :  et  inciderunt  in  eam. 

8.  Paratum  cor  meum  Deus,  8. 

paratum  cor  meum :  cantabo, 

et  psalmum  dicam. 

9.  Exsurge  gloria  mea,  ex-  9. 

surge  psalterium  et  cithara  : 
exsurgam  diluculo. 


Arise  above  the  heavens,  O  God  ; 

And  over  ali  the  earth  be  Thy  glory  ! 

They  set  a  snare  for  my  feet, 

And  bend  down  my  soul  : 

Before  my  face  they  dig  a  pit. 

And  fall  themselves  therein. 


My  heart  is  steadfast,  O  God  ! 

My  heart  is  steadfast ! 

I  will  sing  and  praise. 

Arise,  O  my  glory  ! 

Arise,  harp  and  zither  ! 

With  the  dawn  will  I  arise. 


10.  Confitebor  tibi  in  populis 
Domine  :  et  psalmum  dicam 
tibi  in  Gentibus  : 

11.  Quoniam  magnificata  est 
usque  ad  coelos  misericordia  tua, 
et  usque  ad  nubes  veritas  tua. 


10.  I  will  praise  Thee  among  the  peoples,  O 

Lord  ; 

I  will  sing  Thee  among  the  nations. 

11.  For  Thy  Loving-kindness  is  great  even  to 

the  heavens, 

And  Thy  Truth  even  unto  the  clouds  ! 


12.  Exaltare  super  coelos,  De-  12.  Arise  above  the  heavens,  O  God  ; 
us  :  et  super  omnem  terram  And  over  all  the  earth  be  Thy  glory  ! 

gloria  tua. 


1.  The  ancient  song,  according  to  the  melody  of  which  the  psalm 
was  to  be  sung,  began,  perhaps,  with  the  words  :  “  Destroy  not.” 
The  same  direction  is  found  in  the  tities  of  Psalms  lvii  and  lviii  : 
Ne  corrumpas  of  Ps.  lxxiv.  1  translates  the  same  Hebrew  as  ne  disperdas. 
Possibly  the  Hebrew  ’al  tashheth  is  a  corruption  of  the  name  of  one 
of  the  groups  of  ofhcial  chanters.  The  words  were  already  unin- 
telligible  at  the  date  at  which  the  Greek  translation  of  the  psalms 
was  made. 

2.  The  Lord  is  thought  of  as  the  eagle  that  protects  its  young. 
The  ‘  evil  ’  is  imagined  after  the  fashion  of  a  destructive  hurricane. 

3.  The  ground  of  his  confident  petition  is  his  experience  of  the 
constant  goodness  of  the  Lord. 

4.  Examples  of  the  goodness  of  the  Lord.  Note  here  also  how 
misericordia  and  veritas  appear,  in  some  sort,  as  angels  or  messengers 
of  the  Lord  (cf.  xxxix.  11,  12,  etc.,  etc.). 

5.  The  enemies  are  compared  with  fierce  young  lions  (cf.  Ps.  xvi. 
12  ;  vii.  3  ;  xxxiv  17  ;  xxi.  14)  Dormivi  conturbatus  :  dormivi  does 
not  mean  that  he  slept,  but  that  he  was  compelled  to  seek  his  rest 
among  the  ferocious  enemies  He  was  forced  to  live  among  them, 
and  while  he  lived  among  them  he  was,  of  course,  in  constant  anxiety 
(conturbatus)  Filii  hominum  is  the  psalmisLs  explanation  of  the 
catuli  leonum  :  their  spears  and  arrows  are  the  lions’  teeth  Their 
words  are  as  sharp  as  a  sword.  The  Massoretic  text  is  not  muc.h 


IN  GOD  I  HAVE  NO  FEAR! 


20  7 


clearer  here  than  the  Vulgate.  The  psalmist  passes  here  suddenly 
from  the  comparison  of  his  foes  to  fierce  3'oung  lions  to  the  thought 
of  the  bitterness  of  the  slanders  with  which  his  enemies  pursue  him. 

6.  The  refrain.  The  greatness  and  power  of  the  Lord  will  be  seen 
when  He  interferes  with  the  pians  of  those  who  seek  the  destruction 
of  His  servants. 

7.  Here  again,  as  in  Ps.  lv,  his  foes  are  depicted  as  hunters.  They 
dig  pits  for  game,  but  they  fall  into  them  themselves  (cf.  vii.  16  ; 
ix.  16,  etc.,  etc.). 

8.  A  cry  of  confidence.  His  heart  is  paratum,  ‘  firm/  '  unshakable/ 

‘  fearless/  The  fear  of  his  enemy  is  gone.  Hence  he  will  sing  a 
praising  song  to  God. 

9.  He  addresses  his  soul :  Gloria ,  means  here  probably,  soul 
(cf.  xxix.  13  ;  cvii.  2).  Some  commentators  ha  ve  explained  it  as, 
‘  song  ’ — a  possible  view.  The  parallel  passages,  however,  make  the 
meaning  ‘  soul  ’  more  likely. 

Exsurgam  diluculo ;  the  Massoretic  text  can  mean :  *  I  will  awaken 
the  dawn/  The  dawn  is  often  personified  in  Hebrew  poetry.  Cf. 
Job  iii.  9  ;  xxxviii.  12  ;  Ps.  cxxxviii.  9  ;  Is.  xiv.  12.  (Ps.  xxi.  1  in 
Hebrew  refers  to  the  ‘  dawn-hind/  i.e.  the  dawn  as  a  hind.)  The 
tone  of  this  poem  is  so  imaginative  that  this  explanation  seems 
preferable  here.  Diluculo  should  therefore  be  dilucidum.  ‘  I  will 
rouse  the  slumbering  morn  with  my  songs  of  praise/ 

10.  The  Gentiles  also  shall  hear  of  the  Lord's  goodness  towards 
His  loyal  servants. 

11.  The  kindness  and  truth  of  God  exceed  all  the  limits  of  created 
things.  Cf.  Ps.  xxxv.  6,  7. 

12.  The  refrain.  The  singer  has  not  yet  been  taken  from  the 
midst  of  his  perils.  But  he  is  certain  that  God  will  save  him. 

Note  that  verses  8-12  appear  again  practically  verbatim,  as  an 
introductory  section,  in  Ps.  cvii  (verses  2-6). 


PSALM  LVII, 


A  PRAYER  AGAINST  UNJUST  JUDGES 

THIS  poem  seems  to  be  directed  against  judges.  They  are 
accused  of  failing  to  do  their  duty,  and,  thus,  of  spreading 
iniquity  on  earth.  Perverse  from  their  earliest  youth  they 
are  like  serpents  that  vili  not  be  charmed  into  harmlessness. 
The  psalmist  begs  earnestly  of  the  Lord  to  destroy  these  unjust 
judges,  and  to  give  the  just  the  happiness  of  seeing  themselves  speedily 
avenged.  The  judgment  of  the  Lord  will  show  to  men  that  justice 
has,  indeed,  a  reward,  and  that,  in  spite  of  the  failure  of  human  judges, 
there  is  a  God  who  deals  out  genuine  justice  here  below.  The  fact 
that  ’elohim  can  mean  ‘  God/  as  well  as  ‘  judges  '  gives  a  subtlety  of 
meaning  to  the  final  verse  in  the  Hebrew  which  cannot  be  suggested 
in  a  translation. 

The  spirit  of  this  psalm  is  closely  akin  to  that  of  Ps.  lxxxi.  It 
must  belong  to  a  time  when  corrupt  practices  were  common  among 
the  administrators  of  the  law.  There  practices,  however,  were  not 
unfamiliar  in  any  period  of  Israelite  history.  If  David  is  the  author 
of  the  psalm,  he  must  be  regarded  rather  as  meditating  here  on  the 
abstract  sacredness  of  the  judicial  ofhce,  than  as  attacking  his  own 
officers.  The  Vulgate  text,  however,  if  it  stood  alone,  might,  perhaps, 
be  interpreted  of  David 's  enemies  (some  of  whom  would  be  high 
administrative  officers),  and  not  necessarily  of  iniquitous  judges 
generally. 


i.  In  finem  Ne  disperdas, 
David  in  tituli  inscriptionem. 


i.  For  the  choir-leader  :  [according  to  the 
melody]  “  Destroy  not  ”  :  a  mikh- 
tam  by  David. 


2.  Si  vere  utique  justitiam  lo¬ 
quimini:  recta  judicate  filii 
hominum. 

3.  Etenim  in  corde  iniquitates 
operamini :  in  terra  injustitias 
manus  vestrae  concinnant. 

4.  Alienati  sunt  peccatores  a 
vulva,  erraverunt  ab  utero  : 
locuti  sunt  falsa. 

5.  Furor  illis  secundum  simi¬ 
litudinem  serpentis  :  sicut  aspi¬ 
dis  surdae,  et  obturantis  aures 
suas. 


2.  If,  indeed,  ye  are  judges, 

Judge  what  is  just,  ye  children  of  men  ! 

3.  Yet,  ye  de  vise  evil  in  your  hearts 

And  your  hands  weave  injustice  in  the 
land. 

4.  Perverse  from  their  very  birth  were  those 

sinners  ; 

From  the  womb  they  have  gone  astray, 
and  spoken  lies. 

5.  They  have  a  fury  like  that  of  a  serpent — 

Like  that  of  an  adder  which  is  deaf  and 
stoppeth  up  its  ears. 


208 


A  PRAYER  AGAINST  UNJUST  JUDGES  209 

6.  Quae  non  exaudiet  vocem  6.  Which  heareth  not  the  voice  of  the  snake- 
incantantium  :  et  venefici  in-  charmers, 

cantantis  sapienter.  Nor  of  the  wizard  when  he  duly 

chanteth  his  charms  ! 


7.  Deus  conteret  dentes  eo-  7. 
rura  in  ore  ipsorum  :  molas 
leonum  confringet  Dominus. 

8.  Ad  nihilum  devenient  tam-  8. 
quam  aqua  decurrens :  inten¬ 
dit  arcum  suum  donec  infirmen¬ 
tur. 

9.  Sicut  cera,  quse  fluit,  au-  9. 

ferentur :  supercecidit  ignis, 

et  non  viderunt  solem. 

10.  Priusquam  intelligerent  10. 
spinae  vestrae  rhamnum  :  sicut 
viventes,  sic  in  ira  absorbet  eos. 

11.  Laetabitur  justus  cum  vi-  11. 
derit  vindictam :  manus  suas 
lavabit  in  sanguine  peccatoris. 

12.  Et  dicet  homo  :  si  utique  12. 
est  fructus  justo  :  utique  est 
Deus  judicans  eos  in  terra. . 


God  will  shatter  their  teeth  in  their  mouth 

The  teeth  of  the  lions  God  will  break. 

They  will  come  to  naught,  like  water  that 
floweth  by. 

He  keeps  His  bow  bent  until  they  sink 
down  in  helplessness. 

Like  wax  that  melts,  they  are  carried 
away  ; 

Fire  cometh  down,  and  no  more  do  they 
see  the  sun, 

Before  your  thorns  have  seen  themselves 
grown  to  a  thorn-bush, 

He  will  sweep  them  away,  living,  in  the 
glow  of  His  wrath. 

The  just  man  will  rejoice  when  he  seeth 
the  punishment ; 

He  will  bathe  his  hands  in  the  blood  of 
the  sinner. 

And  men  will  say :  ‘  Verily  there  is 

guerdon  for  the  just  one  ; 

Verily  there  is  a  God  who  judgeth  those 
others,  even  on  earth.’ 


1.  For  the  superscription  see  Ps.  Ivi.  i.  For  mikhtam  cf.  Ps.  xv.  i. 

2.  There  is  considerable  difference  here  between  Hebrew  and 
Vulgate.  A  slight  emendation  of  the  Massoretic  text  gives  the  sense  : 
4  Do  you  verily  speak  justice,  yegods  (=judges)  ?  Do  ye  judge  what  is 
fair,  ye  children  of  men  ?  ’  Utique  (which  would  translate  the  Hebrew, 
’ulam )  represents,  probably,  a  primitive  Hebrew  ’elim  (for  the  judge 
was  supposed  to  share  in  the  divine  attribute  of  justice.)  Cf.  Ex.  xxii. 
27  :  in  the  second  clause  they  are  addressed  as  *  sons  of  men/ 
However  godlike  they  ought  to  be  they  are  indeed  but  men. 

3.  Etenim,  *  nay  rather  ’  ;  not  merely  do  they  not  judge  fairly, 
but  all  of  them  live  in  injustice.  Justice  deals  evenly,  and  her  symbol 
is  the  balance  :  but  these  judges  weigh  out  injustice  (to  concinnant 
corresponds  ‘  weigh  '  in  Hebrew)  throughout  the  land.  Jerome  has  : 
iniquitates  manus  vestrce  appendunt. 

4.  The  same  iniquitous  judges  seem  to  be  spoken  of  here. 

A  vulva=ab  utero,  i. e.  Since  the  moment  when  they  left  the  womb. 
They  were  ne  ver  qualified  to  be  judges  {cf.  Isaias  xlviii.  8). 

5.  The  psalmist  goes  on  to  compare  them,  first  to  a  venomous 
serpent,  and  then,  to  a  raging  lion.  They  are  serpents  which  no  art 
can  lull  into  harmlessness.  The  writer  seems  to  be  quite  familiar 
with  snake-charming.  When  the  charms  failed  to  influence  a  serpent 
it  was  the  custom  to  describe  the  serpent  as  ‘  deaf/ 

14 


210 


THE  PSALMS 


6.  The  Bible  frequently  refers  to  snake-charming.  Cf.  Jer.  viii.  17  ; 
Ecclesiastes  x.  11,  etc. 

Incantans  sapienter ,  the  skilled  charmer,  duly  reciting  the  formulae. 

7.  The  enemy  now  appears  as  a  lion. 

8.  Intendit  arcum,  ‘  keeps  bow  bent/  i.e.  continues  shooting  arrows, 
until  the  quarry  sinks  down  ( infirmentur ),  pierced  with  many  darts. 

9.  The  Hebrew  is  not  quite  ciear  here.  It  has  been  translated, 
usually  :  ‘  Like  the  snail  that  dissolves  as  it  crawls  ;  like  an  untimely 
birth  which  the  sun  has  ne  ver  seen/  But  the  word  translated  ‘  snail > 
occurs  only  here,  and  its  meaning  is  not  certain.  Jerome  has  :  Quasi 
vermis  tabefactus  pertranseant ;  quasi  abortivum  mulieris  quod  non 
vidit  solem.  The  general  bearing  of  the  imagery  in  all  the  texts  is 
ciear  enough.  The  efforts  of  the  wicked  will  come  to  naught.  The 
‘  fire  ’  of  the  Vulgate  means,  apparently,  destroying  fire  which  comes 
suddenly  on  them  from  heaven.  For  the  Hebrew  nephel  ’ esheth  (f  un¬ 
timely  birth  ')  the  Greek  translators  read  naphal  ’esh  (‘  fire  feli '). 
The  reading  ‘  fire  falleth  *  may  have  been  suggested  by  the  melting 
wax  preceding,  and  the  burning  thorn-bush  following. 

10.  '  Before  the  thorns  perceive  that  they  have  grown  into  a  tree  ' ; 
the  *  thorn  ’  would  be  the  little  piant  or  slip,  the  bush,  the  full  grown 
shrub,  or  large  branch.  The  sense  is  that  before  the  pians  of  the 
wicked  are  thought  out,  the  Lord  destroys  them.  There  must  be  a 
proverb  here,  but  the  Vulgate  has  missed  it.  The  Hebrew  has  : 
*  Ere  your  kettles  can  feel  the  [heat  of  the]  thornbush  ;  He  will  blow 
it  away,  be  it  green  or  be  it  burning  '  ;  but  the  text  is  uncertain  and 
this  translation  largely  a  guess.  The  Septuagint  translators 
apparently  read  in  their  Hebrew  text  sirim,  ‘  thorns  *  ;  but  the 
Massoretic  text  has  siroth,  i.e.  '  kettles/  Thorn-brambles  were  used, 
of  course,  to  boil  pots  or  kettles,  and  the  Massoretic  text  probably 
means  :  before  the  kettle  begins  to  feel  the  heat  of  the  burning  thorns, 
the  fire  (or  the  kettle  or  its  content)  is  blown  away.  The  picture  is 
obviously  suggested  by  the  experience  of  travellers  in  the  desert. 
Before  the  fire  just  lit  is  strong  enough  to  heat  the  cooking-pot,  a 
whirlwind  comes  suddenly  and  sweeps  away  the  thorns  of  which  the 
fuel  consists,  and  possibly,  also,  the  cooking-pot.  Jerome  renders  : 
Antequam  crescant  spinee  in  rhamnum „ 

The  Latin  commentators  have  usually  taken  spinee  as  lesser  sins 
(=the  little  shoot,  or  branch),  and  rhamnus  as  greater  sins  (the  bush 
into  which  the  shoot  develops).  The  Greek  o-vvikvcu  ought  to  mean 
‘  bring  together  '  (so  that  the  Greek  should  be  translated  :  ‘  before 
your  shoots  form  the  tree  ’)  ;  but  the  Latin  translators  took  it  as= 
intelligere  (‘  before  your  shoots  recognise  that  they  have  become  a 
bush  ’). 

Viventes  is  to  be  taken  as  referring  to  the  sinners,  who  are  to  be 
swept  away  in  the  midst  of  their  life,  while  they  have  no  thought  of 
death,  i.e.  suddenly. 


A  PRAYER  AGAINST  UNJUST  JUDGES  21 1 

11.  The  idea  of  the  just  revelling  in  the  defeat  of  the  wicked  is 
familiar  in  the  psalms.  Vindicta  is  God’s  vengeance  on  the  sinners. 
The  Massoretic  text  has  the  more  intelligible  *  footsteps/  or  ‘  feet/ 
instead  of  *  hands/  The  slaughter  will  be  so  great  that  the  just  will 
ha  ve  to  wade  in  the  blood  of  the  wicked. 

12.  This  last  verse  looks  back  to  the  beginning  of  the  psalm.  The 
doubt  expressed  in  verse  2,  as  to  whether  there  is  any  justice  on  earth, 
is  here  set  aside.  “  Yes,  indeed  (nren  will  say,  when  they  see  the  fate 
of  the  wicked),  there  is  a  reward  for  justice  :  Yes  !  there  is  an  ’ Elohim 
(=both  ‘  God/  and  ‘  Judges  ’)  who  deals  out  justice  on  earth.” 

The  double  meaning  of  'Elohim  gives  a  point  to  the  Hebrew  which 
cannot  be  adequately  reproduced  in  the  Latin. 


PSALM  LVIII 


A  PRAYER  FOR  HELP  AGAINST  RUTHLESS 

FOES 

THIS  psalm  has  several  points  of  connection  wfth  Psalms  liv-lvi. 
The  sequence  of  thought  in  this  psalm  is  not  ciear.  We  can 
see  that  the  psalmist  is  surrounded  by  enemies  who  are 
insolent,  treacherous,  and  blasphemous.  Apparently  these 
enemies  move  around,  as  a  sort  of  robber-band,  by  night  in 
the  city.  The  psalmist  likens  them  to  the  packs  of  hounds  that  prowl 
through  the  streets  in  search  of  food.  The  psalmist  is  not  conscious 
of  injustice  in  himself,  and  he  prays  earnestly  for  the  punishment  of 
his  enemies.  He  will  not  have  them  exterminated  forthwith,  so  that 
the  people  generally  may  have  time  to  realise  the  meaning  of  their 
discomfiture.  Again  he  compares  his  enemies  to  the  prowling  dogs 
that  howl  if  they  cannot  find  food.  Strong  in  his  confidence  in  the 
Lord  the  psalmist  praises  God  as  His  Helper  and  Protector.  Every 
morning  he  will  sing  a  hymn  of  praise  to  the  Lord  who  saves  him,  and 
will  save  him,  from  perii. 

The  psalm  is  arranged  with  considerable  care.  There  are  two  chief 
sections  2-1 1  and  12-18,  which  perhaps  ended  similarly  in  the  primitive 
text.  These  two  chief  sections  are  themselves  subdi vided  by  the 
refrain  in  verse  7  and  verse  15.  In  the  subdi visions  the  refrain 
begins  the  sub-section  ;  in  the  main  division  the  refrain  concludes 
each  section. 

The  inscription  assigns  the  composition  of  the  psalm  to  the  period 
of  David 's  life  when  Saul  had  his  house  watched,  intending  to  capture 
and  slay  him,  and  David  escaped  through  the  loyalty  and  resourceful- 
ness  of  his  wife  (I  Kings  xix.  njf.).  The  description  of  the  city 
(which  is  probably  Jerusalem),  with  its  bands  of  murderers,  prowling 
for  victims  in  its  streets  at  night-time,  does  not  fit  in  well  with  any- 
thing  that  is  known  of  the  early  Davidic  period.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered  that  Jerusalem  did  not  become  the  capital  and  royal  residence 
until  David  was  already  king  for  a  considerable  time.  If  the  city 
here  described  is  not  Jerusalem,  we  cannot  conjecture  what  city  is 
meant.  Would  David  have  described  the  simple  emissaries  of  Saul 
as  insolent  and  treacherous  and  blasphemous  ?  It  must  be  admitted, 
that,  apart  from  the  tradition  preserved  in  verse  1,  we  have  no  data 
to  determine  with  exactness  either  occasion  or  date  of  this  poem. 


212 


A  PRAYER  FOR  HELP 


213 


The  whole  group  of  psalms  lv-lvii'  seems  to  stand  out  against  a  city- 
background  of  strife,  treachery,  oppression,  dishonesty  and  general 
ungodliness.  It  is  a  feature  of  modern  criticism  to  dogmatise  con- 
fidently  about  the  date  at  which  all  tliese  things  were  likely.  But, 
in  reality,  our  knowledge  of  the  exact  conditions  of  Jerusalem  at  any 
particular  period,  is  very  meagre. 


1.  In  finem,  Ne  disperdas,  1. 
David  in  tituli  inscriptionem 
quando  misit  Saul  et  custodivit 
domum  ejus,  ut  eum  interficeret. 


2.  Eripe  me  de  inimicis  meis  2. 
Deus  meus  :  et  ab  insurgenti¬ 
bus  in  me  libera  me. 

3.  Eripe  me  de  operantibus  3. 
iniquitatem :  et  de  viris  san¬ 
guinum  salva  me. 

4.  Quia  ecce  ceperunt  ani-  4. 
mam  meam :  irruerunt  in  me 
fortes. 

5.  Neque  iniquitas  mea,  ne-  5. 

que  peccatum  meum  Domine  : 

sine  iniquitate  cucurri,  et 
direxi. 

6.  Exsurge  in  occursum  me-  6. 
um,  et  vide :  et  tu  Domine 
Deus  virtutum,  Deus  Israel, 

Intende  ad  visitandas  omnes 
Gentes :  non  miserearis  omni¬ 
bus,  qui  operantur  iniquitatem. 

7.  Convertentur  ad  vesperam  :  7. 

et  famem  patientur  ut  canes, 

et  circuibunt  civitatem. 

8.  Ecce  loquentur  in  ore  suo,  8. 
et  gladius  in  labiis  eorum  : 
quoniam  quis  audivit  ? 

9.  Et  tu  Domine  deridebis  9. 
eos  :  ad  nihilum  deduces  omnes 
Gentes. 


For  the  choir-leader.  [According  to  the 
melody  of]  ‘  Destroy  not.’  A  mikh- 
tam  by  David,  when  Saul  had  sent 
to  have  his  house  watched  in  order 
to  kill  him. 

Rescue  me  from  my  enemies,  O  my  God, 
And  save  me  from  them  that  rise  up 
against  me  ! 

Rescue  me  from  evildoers  ! 

And  from  murderers  save  me  ! 


For  behold  they  make  chase  after  my  life  ! 
The  strong  ones  rush  upon  me. 

Yet  there  is  no  injustice  in  me, 

And  no  sin,  O  Lord  ! 

I  go  my  way,  and  walk  free  from  injustice. 

Arise,  and  come  to  me  and  see  ! 

And  do  Thou,  O  Lord,  the  God  of  Hosts, 
The  God  of  Israel,  set  Thy  thought 
On  the  punishment  of  all  peoples  ! 
Pity  not  one  of  those  who  do  evil ! 


They  will  come  again  in  the  evening, 
They  will  hunger  like  dogs, 

They  will  prowl  round  the  city. 
Behold  they  will  speak  proudly  ; 

And  they  will  have  a  sword  between 
their  lips. 

‘  For  who  ’  [they  think]  ‘  heareth  it.’ 
But  Thou,  O  Lord,  dost  laugh  at  them. 
All  the  peoples  Thou  esteemeth  as 
nothing. 


10.  My  strength  !  to  Thee  will  I  hold  fast : 

For  Thou,  O  God,  art  my  Protector. 

11.  My  God — His  kindness  doth  hasten  to 

help  me. 

12.  The  Lord  will  give  me  to  see  my  pleasure 

on  my  foes  ! 

Slay  them  not,  lest  my  people  forget  : 
Scatter  them  in  Thy  strength,  and  cast 
them  headlong,  my  Protector,  O 
Lord  ! 


10.  Fortitudinem  meam  ad  te 
custodiam,  quia  Deus  susceptor 
meus  es  : 

11.  Deus  meus,  misericordia 
ejus  praeveniet  me. 

12.  Deus  ostendet  mihi  super 
inimicos  meos,  ne  occidas  eos  : 
nequando  obliviscantur  populi 
mei. 

Disperge  illos  in  virtute  tua  : 
et  depone  eos  protector  meus 
Domine  : 

13.  Delictum  oris  eorum,  ser-  13. 
monem  labiorum  ipsorum  :  et 


Because  of  the  sin  of  their  mouth  and 
the  speech  of  their  lips, 


214 


THE  PSALMS 


comprehendantur  in  superbia 
sua. 

Et  de  exsecratione  et  menda¬ 
cio  anuntiabuntur 

14.  In  consummatione :  in 
ira  consummationis,  et  non 
erunt. 

Et  scient  quia  Deus  domina¬ 
bitur  Jacob  :  et  finium  terrae. 


15.  Convertentur  ad  vespe¬ 
ram  et  famem  patientur  ut 
canes  :  et  circuibunt  civitatem. 

16.  Ipsi  dispergentur  ad  man¬ 
ducandum  :  si  vero  non  fuerint 
saturati,  et  murmurabunt. 

17.  Ego  autem  cantabo  forti¬ 
tudinem  tuam :  et  exsultabo 
mane  misericordiam  tuam. 

Quia  factus  es  susceptor  meus- 
et  refugium  meum,  in  die  tribu¬ 
lationis  meae. 

18.  Adiutor  meus  tibi  psallam, 
quia  Deus  susceptor  meus  es : 
Deus  meus  misericordia  mea. 


May  they  be  taken  captives  in  their  pride; 
for  by  the  curses  and  lies  which  they 
speak, 


14.  They  show  themselves  fit  for  destruc- 
tion,  for  an  annihilating  wrath. 

And  they  will  be  no  more  : 

And  they  shall  know  that  God  ruleth 
over  Jacob, 

And  over  the  ends  of  the  earth. 


15.  They  will  come  again  in  the  evening, 

They  will  hunger  like  dogs, 

They  will  prowl  round  the  city. 

16.  They  wander  in  groups  searching  for  food 

And  if  they  are  not  sated  they  howl. 


17.  But  I  will  sing  Thy  strength, 

And  will  praise,  in  the  morning,  Thy 
kindness, 

For  Thou  art  my  Protector, 

And  my  refuge  in  the  time  of  trouble  ! 

18.  O  my  helper,  I  will  sing  to  Thee  ; 

For  Thou,  O  God,  art  my  Protector, 
My  God  of  Kindness  ! 


1.  For  the  superscription  see  Psalm  xv.  1  ;  Ivi.  1. 

4.  Ceperunt  animam  meam.  The  Greek  shows  that  the  sense  is  : 
‘  They  hunt  after  my  lite/ 

5.  Cucurri  et  direxi  ;  the  two  verbs  together  mean  *  I  live,’  f  I 
come  and  go/  In  the  Hebrew  the  phrase  refers  to  the  evildoers  : 
they  hurry  and  make  themselves  ready  against  me.  Direxi  can  be 
suppose  to  govern  via,  or  cor,  or  gressus  or  some  similar  word. 

6.  It  is  strange  to  find  here  a  prayer  against  omnes  gentes.  If 
God  destroys  all  sinners,  He  must  also  destroy  the  enemies  of  David. 

7.  We  cannot  realise  the  full  meaning  of  this  verse,  since  we  know 
nothing  more  than  is  here  indicated  of  the  situation  in  question. 
The  enemies  of  the  psalmist  are  compared  to  packs  of  savage,  hungry 
dogs,  ranging  through  an  eastern  town.  The  wandering  packs  of 
dogs  searching  for  food  in  the  street-refuse  have  always  been  familiar 
in  the  East  (cf.  Isaias  Ivi.  gff.). 

Circuibunt,  ‘  they  prowl  through  the  streets.’  The  refrain  in  the 
Hebrew  reads  :  *  They  return  in  the  evening  and  howl,  and  prowl 
through  the  city  like  dogs.' 

8.  Loquentur  in  ore,  they  speak  arrogantlv,  or  confidently.  The 
gladius  in  their  lips  symbolises  the  bitterness  of  their  blasphemous 
speech. 

“  For,  they  say,  who  hears  us  ?  "  They  assume  that  God  will 
not  heed  their  words  or  deeds,  that  He  has  no  cam  for  His  servants. 
(For  a  similar  seritiment,  cf.  ix.  32  ;  lxiii.  6.) 


A  PRAYER  FOR  HELP 


215 

9.  But  God  does  heed,  and  laughs  their  blasphemous  presumption 
to  scorn. 

10.  It  seems  best  to  take  custodire  intransitively  here.  Taken  with 
ad  it  will  mean,  ‘  to  hold  last  by.’  Fortitudinem  meam,  is  then  aposi- 
tional  to  te — I  will  hold  fast  to  Thee,  my  Strength  (practically  same 
sense  as  Hebrew). 

11.  Deus  meus,  misericordia  ejus  is  e  qui  valent  to  misericordia  Dei 
[cf.  x.  5  :  Dominus  in  coelo  sedes  ejus). 

Pr (eveniet,  hurry  to  one’s  aid. 

12.  Ostendet,  etc.,  ‘  will  let.  me  feast  my  eyes  on  my  defeated  foes.’ 
Cf.  liii.  9. 

Ne  occidas  eos  :  why  this  petition  ?  If  God  destroyed  the  wicked 
ones  suddenly,  the  ‘  people  '  of  the  psalmist  might  soon  forget  the 
quickly  executed  vengeance  of  God.  God  is  asked  to  make  an  example 
of  the  enemies  which  will  be  obvious  to  all  for  a  long  time.  He  is 
asked  to  scatter  them,  and  to  cast  them  down  from  their  position  of 
influence. 

13.  Delictum  and  sermonem  are  sometimes  taken  as  accusations 
depending  on  depone.  It  is  better  to  take  them  as  accusatives  of 
reference — as  in  the  translation  above. 

Comprehendantur  may  mean  that  they  are  to  be  enmeshed,  caught 
as  in  a  snare,  by  their  pride,  i.e.  by  their  own  blasphemies. 

Et  de  execratione  et  mendacio  annuntiabuntur :  in  the  translation 
annuntiabuntur  is  taken  in  a  medial  sense  ;  they  announce  themselves 
as  ready,  they  make  application  for,  destruction  [consummatio),  yea, 
for  destroying  wrath,  by  their  curses  and  their  lies.  The  Latin  goes 
its  own  way  here,  and  that  way  is  a  difhcult  one.  Jerome  has 
Maledictionem  et  mendacium  narrantes :  consume  in  furore,  consume 
ut  non  subsistant.  The  passage  has  been  very  variously  explained. 
The  English  translation  given  above  incorporates  reasonable  possi- 
bilities. 

15.  The  poet  had  been  looking  into  the  future.  He  now  looks 
again  at  the  troublesome  world  around  him.  In  this  further  section 
the  psalmist  contrasts  the  nightly  prowling  of  the  wicked  ones  with 
his  own  diligence  in  the  Service  of  God. 

16.  They  are  like  the  dogs,  prowling  in  groups,  and  howling  when 
they  do  not  find  enough  to  sate  them. 

17.  The  psalmist  comes  early  in  the  morning  (contiasted  with  the 
night  of  the  prowlers)  to  the  Temple  (?)  to  sing  the  praises  of  God’s 
mercies  towards  himself. 

18.  This  verse  is  so  like  verse  10-11  that  it  is  reasonably  regarded 
as  an  accidentally  shortened  form  of  the  resembling  passage  in  10-11. 
Thus  there  are  two  sections  ending  with  the  refrain  Deus,  susceptor 
meus  es  ;  Deus  meus  ;  misericordia  ejus  prceveniet  me,  and  two  sub- 
sections  beginning  with  the  refrain  Convertentur  ad  vesperam,  etc. 
(verses  7  and  15). 


PSALM  LIX 


HELP  US,  O  LORD,  ACCORDING  TO  THY 

PROMISE! 


THE  general  meaning  of  this  difficult  psalm  is  probably  best 
seen  when  it  is  regarded  as  consisting  of  paits  assigned  to 
several  different  speakers  or  singers.  The  translation  below 
suggests  a  possible  and  likely  arrangement  of  the  sections 
assigned  to  the  varions  singers  or  speakers.  The  poem  is  introduced 
by  a  complaint  that  God  has  abandoned  His  people  in  battle  ;  from 
which  we  infer  that  the  nation  has  recently  met  with  serious  military 
reverses.  The  defeat  of  Israel  has  been  dreadful,  like  an  earthquake, 
and  the  people  have  reeled  from  the  shock  of  it  like  men  who  have 
drunk  of  a  ‘  staggering  ’  wine.  In  verses  6-7  another  set  of  singers 
hymns  the  hope  that  the  Lord  will  again  be  the  Leader  of  His  people, 
and  save  them  from  their  foes.  Then,  in  verses  8-10,  a  voice  sings 
an  Oracle  which  promises  victory  to  Juda  and  Ephraim,  and,  ap- 
parently,  defeat  to  Sichem,  and  the  Valley  of  Tents,  and  to  Moab, 
Edom,  and  Philisthia.  Sichem  symbolises  the  country  west  of  the 
Jordan,  and  the  Vale  of  Tents  (=Sukkoth)  the  land  east  of  the  river. 
Juda  and  Ephraim  are  thus  promised  victory  over  the  land  on  both 
sides  of  the  river,  and  over  the  ancient  foes  on  their  frontiers.  The 
king,  or  the  general,  of  the  Israelites  speaks  in  verses  11,  12.  He 
is  about  to  go  forth  on  a  military  expedition.  The  ‘  fortress-city  * 
is,  apparently,  the  goal  of  the  expedition,  and  the  context  suggests 
that  it  may  be  one  of  the  chief  cities  of  Edom.  The  expedition  may 
not  hope  for  success  unless  the  ‘  Lord  of  the  Battle  Hosts  ’  goes  forth, 
as  of  old,  with  the  army.  The  two  concluding  verses  are  the  confident 
cry  of  the  people.  In  God  alone  they  hope,  but  they  are  confident 
that  He  will  be  with  their  armies. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  verses  8-14  of  this  psalm  appear  again  as 
the  second  part  of  Psalm  cvii.  They  are,  perhaps,  a  portion  of  an 
ancient  oracle  dealing  with  the  military  victories  of  Israel  during 
the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  David.  There  is  no  real  ground  for 
refusing  to  ascribe  such  an  oracle  to  David,  and  the  connection  of 
the  poem  with  the  Aramean  and  Edomite  campaigns  of  David,  sug- 
gested  by  the  title,  is,  thus,  to  a  certain  extent,  reasonable.  But 
the  general  situation  of  Israel  at  the  time  of  David's  Aramean  wars 


216 


HELP  US,  O  LORD 


21 7 


was  not  that  of  a  people  recently  defeated  heavily  in  war  (vid.  II  Kings 
viii  ;  I  Paral.  xviii).  Possibly,  however,  while  Da  vid  was  engaged 
against  the  Arameans  in  the  north,  the  Edomites  may  have  made 
a  victorious  incnrsion  into  Juda  from  the  south  ;  but  this  is  only  a 
conjecture  to  explain  the  inscription  of  this  psalm. 


1.  In  finem,  Pro  his  qui  im¬ 
mutabuntur,  in  tituli  inscriptio¬ 
nem  ipsi  David  in  doctrinam, 

2.  Cum  succendit  mesopota- 
miam  Syriae,  et  Sobal,  et  con¬ 
vertit  Joab  et  percussit  Idumae¬ 
am  in  valle  Salinarum  duodecim 
millia. 

3.  Deus  repulisti  nos,  et  de¬ 
struxisti  nos :  iratus  es,  et 
misertus  es  nobis. 

4.  Commovisti  terram,  et  con¬ 
turbasti  eam  :  sana  contritiones 
ejus,  quia  commota  est. 

5.  Ostendisti  populo  tuo  du¬ 
ra  :  potasti  nos  vino  compun¬ 
ctionis. 


6.  Dedisti  metuentibus  te 
significationem :  ut  fugiant  a 
facie  arcus. 

Ut  liberentur  dilecti  tui  : 

7.  Salvum  fac  dextera  tua,  et 
exaudi  me. 

8.  Deus  locutus  est  in  sancto 
suo  :  Laetabor,  et  partibor  Sichi- 
mam  :  et  convallem  tabernacu¬ 
lorum  metibor. 

9.  Meus  est  Galaad,  et  meus 
est  Manasses  :  et  Ephraim  for¬ 
titudo  capitis  mei. 

10.  Juda  rex  meus :  Moab 
olla  spei  meae. 

In  Idumaeam  extendam  cal¬ 
ceamentum  meum  :  mihi  alieni¬ 
genae  subditi  sunt. 

11.  Quis  deducet  me  in  civi¬ 
tatem  munitam  :  quis  deducet 
me  usque  in  Idumaeam  ? 

12.  Nonne  tu  Deus,  qui  repu¬ 
listi  nos  :  et  non  egredieris  Deus 
in  virtutibus  nostris. 


13.  Da  nobis  auxilium  de  tri¬ 
bulatione  :  quia  vana  salus  ho¬ 
minis. 

14.  In  Deo  faciemus  virtu¬ 
tem  :  et  ipse  ad  nihilum  deducet 
tribulantes  nos. 


1,  2.  For  the  choir-leader.  .  .  a  mikhtam 
by  David.  .  .  When  he  had  devas- 
tated  Mesopotamian  Syria  and  Sobal, 
and  Joab  tumed  about,  and  smote 
Edom  in  the  valley  of  Salt — 12,000 
men. 

(First  choir) 

3.  O  God,  Thou  hast  rejected  us  and  cast 

us  down  : 

Thou  wert  angry  with  us — but  again, 
Thou  dost  pity  us  ! 

4.  Thou  didst  make  the  earth  to  quake,  and 

Thou  hast  riven  it. 

O  heal  its  rents,  for  it  stili  doth  totter  1 

5.  Bitter  things  hast  Thou  made  people  see  ; 

Thou  hast  given  us  draughts  of  stagger- 
ing  wine. 

(Second  choir) 

6.  Thou  gavest  them  that  fear  Thee  a 

banner, 

That  they  might  fly  before  the  bow, 
That  Thy  loved  ones  might  be  rescued  : 

7.  Save  with  Thy  right  hand,  and  hear  mef 

(A  solo-singer) 

8.  God  hath  spoken  in  His  sanctuary : 

‘  I  will  gladly  divide  Sichem  ; 

And  measure  out  the  Valley  of  Tents. 

9.  Mine  is  Gilead,  and  mine  is  Manasses  • 
And  Ephraim  is  my  head’s  defence  ; 

10.  Juda  is  my  king. 

Moab  is  the  wash-basin  which  I  desire  ; 
On  Edom  I  cast  my  shoe  ; 

To  me  the  Philistines  are  subject.’ 

(The  King  ?) 

11.  Who  will  lead  me  to  the  fortress-city  ? 

Who  will  lead  me  to  Edom  ? 

12.  Wilt  Thou  not,  O  God,  Thou  who  hast 

rejected  us  ? 

Wilt  Thou  not  march  forth  once  again 
with  our  armies  ? 

(The  people) 

13.  Grant  us  rescue  from  our  perii, 

For  idle  is  the  help  of  men  ! 

14.  In  God  we  shall  do  mightily  ; 

And  He  will  bring  our  enemies  to 
naught ! 


218 


THE  PSALMS 


i,  2.  Pro  his  qui  immutabuntur :  here,  as  in  Ps.  xliv  and  lxxix, 
the  Greek  translators  read  in  Hebrew  ‘ al  sheshshonim,  instead  of  the 
Massoretic  ‘al  shushan  ‘eduth  which  is  nsuallv  regarded  as  meaning 
‘  According  to  the  Lily  of  the  Testament.’  This  may,  possibly,  be 
the  name  of  the  melody  after  which  the  psalm  was  to  be  sung.  ‘  Lily 
of  the  Testament  ’  may,  however,  like  ‘  Hind  of  the  Dawn,’  be  the  name 
of  a  group  of  singers.  For  the  historical  events  referred  to  see 
II  Kings  viii,  and  I  Paral.  xviii.  II  Kings  viii.  13  speaks  of  the 
slaughter  of  18,000  Edomites  in  the  Valley  of  Salt.  The  difference  of 
the  texts  in  regard  to  the  number  is  due  to  a  copyisfs  error.  The 
Valley  of  Salt  is  east  of  Beersheba. 

Succendere,  ‘  savage,’  *  destroy.’  Mesopotamia  Syriae  included 
the  whole  area  between  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  and  not  merely  the 
Southern  portion  of  it.  Sobal  is  the  Hebrew  Soba,  an  Aramaic  kingdom. 

3.  This  is  a  ciear  reference  to  a  recent  military  catastrophe.  The 
nos  points  to  choral  singing,  as  suggested  in  the  translation.  Though 
God  was  angry  with  the  people,  there  are  signs  again  of  His  favour. 
The  mere  gathering  of  an  Israelite  army  to  attack  Edom  would  be 
impossible  unless  God.  were  propitious. 

4.  The  country  has  suffered  greatly,  and  help  is  urgently  needed. 

5.  The  people  ha  ve  been  given  to  drink  of  the  cup  of  God’s  wrath, 
and  stagger  like  men  who  are  drunk  with  alcohol. 

For  the  thought  of  a  cup  of  God’s  wrath,  compare  Jer.  xxv.  15  ff. 
‘  For  thus  said  Yahweh,  the  God  of  Israel,  unto  me  :  Take  this  cup 
of  foaming  wine  from  my  hand,  and  make  to  drink  of  it  all  the  peoples 
to  whom  I  shall  send  thee.  They  will  drink,  and  reel  to  and  fro,  and 
be  mad,  because  of  the  sword  which  I  am  about  to  send  among  them. 
And  I  took  the  cup  from  the  hand  of  Yahweh,  and  made  to  drink  all 
the  peoples  unto  whom  Yahweh  had  sent  me.  ...  18.  And  thou 

shalt  say  unto  them  :  Thus  saith  Yahweh  of  Hosts,  the  God  of  Israel : 
Drink  ye  and  be  drunken  and  spue  and  fall  and  rise  no  more,  because 
of  the  sword  which  I  am  about  to  send  among  you.’  Again  Ps.  lxxiv.  9  : 

‘  A  cup  hath  Yahweh  in  His  hands, 

Filled  with  foaming  wine. 

He  spiceth  it  and  poureth  therefrom  : 

Even  to  the  dregs  the  godless  must  drain  it.' 

For  the  cup  of  wrath  as  a  *  cup  of  staggering,’  see  Isaias  li.  1  yff.: 

Awake  !  Awake  !  Arise,  Jerusalem  ! 

Thou  who  hast  drunk  from  Yahweh’s  hand  the  cup  of  His  wrath  ! 

Thou  who  hast  drunk  the  cup  of  staggering — hast  drunk  it  to  the  dregs  ! 

— (C/.  Is.  li.  22) 

In  Zach.  xii.  2  the  Lord  promises  to  make  Jerusalem  a  *  cup  of 
staggering  ’  for  all  the  peoples  round  about  it.  The  ‘  cup  (or,  the 
wine)  of  staggering  ’  is  obviously  the  same  as  the  ‘  cup  of  God’s  wrath.’ 
Vinum  compunctionis  ought  to  mean  a  wine  that  causes  bitter  or 
gnawing  pain,  ahd  it  is  not  readily  obvious  how  compunctio  has  come 


HELP  US,  O  LORD 


219 


to  represent  the  Hebrew  tar‘elah  (reeling,  staggering).  Compunctio 
is  a  rendering  of  the  Septuagint  Kardwgis.  This  substantive  occurs 
only  here  and  in  one  other  place  in  the  Septuagint.  The  other  place 
is  Isaias  xxix.  10,  where  it  translates  tardemah  (deep  sleep).  In 
Ps.  iv.  5  ;  xxix.  13  ;  xxxiv.  15  forms  of  the  verb  Karawyrjvai 
are  used  to  render  the  Hebrew  verb  damam  (to  be  dumb,  to  be  dumb- 
founded — as  a  resuit  of  grief,  anguish,  fear  or  other  violent  emotion). 
It  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  idea  of  piercing  or  being  pierced  conveyed 
in  Kardvvgts  and  Karawyrjvai  (and  in  compunctio  and  compungere) 
was  discovered  by  the  authors  of  the  Septuagint  version  in  damam 
(to  be  silent),  ta/elah  (staggering),  or  tardemah  (deep  sleep).  It  is 
possible  that  the  use  of  KaTawyrjvac  in  the  psalms  as  a  translation 
of  damam  is  due  to  the  example  of  the  author  of  the  Septuagint 
version  of  Leviticus  x.  3,  who  employs  KarevvxOri  to  translate  yiddom 
(from  damam)  :  Karavvyyjvai  having  been  once  used  (though,  perhaps 
mistakenly)  by  a  writer  of  great  authority  to  translate  damam, 
the  idea  of  silence  (whether  that  of  anguish,  grief  or  stupefaction) 
came  to  be  associated  by  the  later  Septuagint  translators  with  the 
verb  itself  Karawyrjvai,  and  with  its  derivatives.  There  remains 
the  difficulty  that  in  this  psalm  passage  Karaw^is  [compunctio)  is 
used  apparently  to  render  taCelah  (staggering).  The  fact,  however, 
appears  to  be,  that  the  Septuagint  translator  read  here,  as  in  Isaias  xxix. 
10,  tardemah  (deep  sleep).  ‘Sleep’  and  ‘silence’  are,  perhaps, 
closely  enough  connected,  to  be  rendered  by  the  same  Greek  word. 
There  is  some  evidence  that  tardemah  was  read  in  this  psalm  passage 
by  Aquila  and  by  Jerome  also.  Aquila  translates  ‘  wine  of  staggering  ’ 
by  otvov  KapuHreios  (wine  of  torpor),  and  we  know  that  Symmachus 
rendered  tardemah  in  Isaias  xxix.  10  by  Kapwcri?.  Thus,  it  is  highly 
probable  that  Aquila  read  here  tardemah.  Jerome ’s  rendering  vinum 
consopiens  in  verse  5  of  our  psalm  makes  it  probable  that  Jerome  also 
read  tardemah  in  this  verse  (In  Isaias  xxix.  10  the  Vulgate  has  spiritus 
soporis).  In  Roms.  xi.  8,  St.  Paul  uses  Kardvv$i<s  to  express  (ap¬ 
parently)  stupidity  or  insensibility.  It  may  be,  however,  that 
Kardw^Ls  was  not  popularly  derived,  in  the  Hellenistic  period, 
from  Karavvacio  (to  pierce),  but  was  connected  mistakenly  with 
vva-Td^Lv,  Karaw(TTd^€Lv ,  (to  be  sleep y).  It  could  be  thus  used 
to  express  every  condition  of  sleepy  insensibility  and  stupefaction, 
and  could  even  render  fairly  well  the  Hebrew,  ta/elah  (staggering 
caused  by  wine) . 

6.  This  is  an  obscure  verse  as  it  stands  in  the  Vulgate.  It  might 
be  taken  to  mean  that  God  has  always  warned  His  people  by  some 
sign  against  the  folly  of  resisting  foes  whose  victories  were  certain. 
The  ‘  bow  ’  would  then  symbolise  the  victorious  enemies.  The  signi¬ 
ficatio,  to  judge  by  the  Hebrew  equi  valent,  nes  (banner,  Standard) 
would  consist  in  the  raising  of  a  banner  ;  and  the  suggestion  would 
be  that  God  has  always  been  timely  in  raising  a  banner  for  Israel,  not 


220 


THE  PSALMS 


to  rally  the  nation  for  battle  and  victory,  but  to  assemble  her  fugitives 
for  safe  retreat.  Some  modern  commentators,  taking  this  view  of 
the  verse,  ha  ve  found  in  it  a  complaint  in  sarcastic  form.  It  is  not, 
however,  necessary  to  find  any  sarcasm  here.  The  Hebrew  verb 
which  is  rcpresented  by  fugiant  in  all  probability  does  not  mean  to 
fly.  The  Hebrew  substantive  nes  (Standard,  banner)  and  the  Hebrew 
verb  nus  (fly,  retreat),  are  apparently,  but  not  'certainly,  from  the 
same  root.  The  phrase,  ‘  Thou  hast  given  to  those  who  fear  Thee  a 
nes  lehithnoses  '  does  not  mean  ‘  Thou  hast  given  them  a  banner  for 
flight/  but,  more  likely,  ‘  Thou  hast  given  them  a  Standard  for  rallying 
(to  rally  themselves)  ’  There  is  no  sarcasm  in  this,  but  an  expression 
of  complete  confidence  in  God.  The  nes  in  the  case,  is  probably 
Yahweh  Himself  (as  in  Exod.  xvii.  15,  where  He  is  called  by  Moses 
Yahweh  nissi,  ‘  Yahweh,  my  banner  !  ’).  There  is  no  difliculty  in 
postulating  in  addition  to  nus,  ‘  to  fly/  a  Hebrew  verb  nus  which  in 
the  reflexi  ve  forms  would  mean  ‘  to  gather  to  a  Standard/  The 
Massoretic  text  gives  here  another  unusual  form — koshet,  instead  of 
kesheth  (bow).  This  form  koshet  is  due  to  Aramaic  influences,  and  its 
presence  here  suggests,  perhaps,  that  we  should  not  hesitate  to  find 
in  hithnoses  another  unusual  Hebrew  word.  The  Oracle  which  follows 
shows  what  may  be  expected  when  the  Lord  takes  His  place,  as  in  the 
old  days  of  IsraePs  conquests,  at  the  head  of  Israehs  battle  hosts. 
The  dilecti  are  the  people  of  the  Lord. 

8-10.  These  verses  are  uttered  by  a  singer  who  speaks,  as  one 
inspired,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  The  words  are  an  old  promise  of 
victory  given  in  the  days  of  DavkTs  conquests.  What  God  did  once 
He  will  do  again  !  The  words  of  the  Oracle  follow  naturally  on  the 
outburst  of  confidence  in  verses  6-7.  The  oracle  is  said  to  have  been 
given  originally  in  the  Lord’s  shrine  or  sanctuary — Deus  locutus  est 
in  sancto  suo.  Sichem  (Shechem)  represents  the  country  west  of  the 
Jordan  :  the  Vale  of  Tents  (=Sukkoth  in  Gilead)  represents  the  land 
east  of  the  river.  Together  the  two  places  are  equivalent  to  all 
Palestine.  Gilead  and  Manasses  in  verse  9  are  often  taken  as  corre- 
sponding  respectively  to  the  Vale  of  Tents  and  Shechem  of  verse  8. 
Yet,  since  Manasses  was  settled  on  the  east  side  as  well  as  011  the 
west  side  of  the  Jordan,  it  is  possible  that  Gilead  and  Manasses  de¬ 
signate  together  the  whole  of  the  Promised  Land  to  the  east  of  the 
river.  Ephraim  and  Juda  would  then  designate  all  the  territory 
west  of  the  Jordan.  To  God  the  whole  of  Palestine  belongs.  Ephraim, 
the  strongest  of  all  the  tribes,  is  described  as  His  helmet  ( fortiduo 
capitis),  as  if  God  were  imagined  as  a  warrior,  (or,  the  sense  may  be 
that  Ephraim  is  to  be  compared  to  the  horns  with  which  the  ox  attacks 
and  defends  :  in  Deut.  xxxiii.  17  the  House  of  Joseph  is  the  Bull 
which  pushcs  the  nations  with  his  horns  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
Cf.  Ps.  xliii.  5).  Juda,  from  whom,  according  to  Gen.  xlix.  10,  the 
Ruler  should  go  forth,  is  God’s  ‘  sceptre-bearer  ’  His  wise  and  prudent 


HELP  US,  O  LORD  221 

ruler.  Ephraim  typifies,  then,  the  strength,  Juda  the  prudence,  of 

Israel. 

The  fate  of  Moab  is  to  become  the  olla  spei  meae — the  ‘  washing- 
basin  '  which  the  Lord  desires.  The  Greek  translators  read  rahsi 

m  • 

(in  Hebrew,  ‘  my  washing  ’)  as  if  it  were  from  the  Aramaic  root 
i^has,  ‘  to  hope/  The  washing  basin  as  a  receptacle  of  uncleanness, 
typifies  the  humiliation  of  Moab.  On  Edom  will  be  cast  the  shoe 
which  will  symbolise  its  complete  defeat  and  subjugation.  The 
Alienigenae  (the  Philistines  :  Hebrew,  PHesheth)  will  also  be  made 
vassals  of  Israel.  (One  may  well  compare  with  verses  10-11  the 
striking  prophecies  of  Jeremias  against  the  Philistines,  Moab  and 
Ammon  and  Edom  in  chapters  47-49  of  his  Book.) 

11-12.  The  present  leader  of  the  people  longs  for  a  return  of  the 
former  favour  of  the  Lord  so  strongly  expressed  in  the  oracle,  and 
begs  for  a  renewal  of  victories. 

The  civitas  munita  is  some  definite  city  which  the  Israelite  general 
(or  king)  hopes  to  capture — possibly  Petra,  the  capital  of  Edom. 
Will  not  Yahweh  deign  again,  as  of  old,  to  lead  to  victory  the  hosts 
of  Israel  ? 

13-14.  The  people  are  full  of  the  hope  that  their  leader's  prayer 
will  be  granted  and  burst  out  into  a  cry  of  exulting  confidence. 


PSALM  LX 


A  PRAYER  OF  AN  EXILE  FOR  THE  KING 

THE  singer  is  far  away  from  Jerusalem,  and  longs  to  return  so 
that  he  may  dwell  again  in  the  Tent  of  the  Lord  under  the 
shelter  of  the  LorcTs  protecting  pinions.  He  adds  a  prayer 
for  the  safety  of  JerusalenTs  king.  If  his  prayers  are  heard 
he  will  fulfil  his  vows,  i. e.  his  promise  to  glorify  with  praising  song  the 
name  of  the  Lord  for  ever. 

The  psalm  is  assigned  by  the  inscription  to  David.  Yet  it  includes 
a  prayer  for  the  king.  If,  then,  David  is  the  author  of  the  poem,  the 
prayer  for  the  king  must  be  regarded  less  as  a  prayer  for  himself, 
than  as  a  petition  for  the  fulfilment  of  NathaiTs  prophecy  of  the  per- 
manence  of  DavkVs  throne  (II  Kings  vii.  12-16).  Since  that  prophecy 
was  to  be  fulhlled  in  the  Messias,  this  psalm  has  been  often  regarded 
as  Messianic.  On  the  theory  of  Davidic  authorship,  the  psalm  is 
usually  assigned  to  the  period  of  AbsalonTs  rebellion  when  David 
had  to  fly  to  the  country  east  of  the  Jordan,  the  ‘  ends  of  the  earth  ' 
of  verse  3.  Modern  critics,  who  reject  Davidic  authorship,  are  forced 
to  admit  at  least  a  pro-exilic  date  for  the  psalm  on  account  of  the  prayer 
for  the  king. 


1.  In  finem,  in  hymnis  Davd.  1.  For  the  choir-leader. 


By  David. 


2.  Exaudi  Deus  deprecatio¬ 
nem  meam  :  intende  orationi 
meae. 

3.  A  finibus  terrae  ad  te  cla¬ 
mavi  :  dum  anxiaretur  cor  me¬ 
um,  in  petra  exaltasti  me.  De¬ 
duxisti  me. 

4.  Quia  factus  es  spes  mea  : 
turris  fortitudinis  a  facie  inimici. 

5.  Inhabitabo  in  tabernaculo 
tuo  in  saecula  :  protegar  in  vela¬ 
mento  alarum  tuarum. 

6.  Quoniam  tu  Deus  meus  ex¬ 
audisti  orationem  meam  :  de¬ 
disti  haereditatem  timentibus 
nomen  tuum. 


2.  Hear,  O  God,  my  crying  ! 

Give  heed  to  my  prayer ! 

3.  From  the  ends  of  the  earth  I  cry  to  Thee, 

when  my  heart  is  straitened. 

On  a  rock  Thou  hast  set  me  (safely) ; 
Thou  dost  guide  me. 

4.  For  Thou  art  my  hope, 

A  strong  tower  against  my  foe  ! 

5.  Let  me  dwell  for  ever  in  Thy  Tent  ! 

Let  me  be  safe  in  the  protection  of  Thy 
pinions  ! 

6.  For  Thou,  my  God,  dost  hear  my  prayer  ; 

A  sure  possession  Thou  dost  give  to 
those  who  fear  Thy  Name. 


7.  Dies  super  dies  regis  ad¬ 
jicies  :  annos  ejus  usque  in  diem 
generationis  et  generationis. 

8.  Permanet  in  aeternum  in 
conspectu  Dei  :  misericordiam 
et  veritatem  ejus  quis  requiret  ? 


7.  Add  days  to  the  life-time  of  the  King  ! 

Multiply  his  years  unto  the  time  of 
generations  most  remote  ! 

8.  Let  him  abide  for  ever  before  God  ! 

Who  shall  search  into  his  kindness  and 
his  truth  ? 


222 


PRAYER  OF  AN  EXILE  FOR  THE  KING  223 


9.  Sic  psalmum  dicam  nomini  9.  Thus  will  I  sing  to  Thy  Name  for  ever, 
tuo  in  saeculum  saeculi  :  ut  red-  That  I  may  fulfil  my  vows  each  day. 

dam  vota  mea  de  die  in  diem. 


1.  In  hymnis,  here  and  in  Ps.  xlvi.  i,  corresponds  to  the  Hebrew 
‘al  neginoth,  which  is  usually  rendered,  ‘  on  stringed  instruments/ 
There  may  be  here,  however,  the  name  of  a  group  of  official  chanters, 
so  that  the  superscription  may  mean  :  '  For  the  choir-leader  of  the 
group  ngfinoth.’ 

3.  The  fines  terree  may  be  remote  districts  of  Palestine,  such  as 
the  land  east  of  the  Jordan  ;  or  they  may  be  lands  far  away  from 
Palestine,  such  as  Babylonia,  or  other  distant  lands  where  Hebrew 
exiles  lived.  The  fines  terree  ha  ve  been  usually  understood  of  Davids 
eastern  headquarters  during  the  rebellion  of  Absolom — Mahanaim. 
David’s  heart  is  uneasy  even  though  victory  is  at  hand.  In  petra 
exaltasti  .  .  .  deduxisti.  The  Hebrew  verbs  in  this  phrase  seem  to 
have  an  optative  sense  :  ‘  O  that  Thou  wouldst  lead  me  up  the  rock 
that  is  too  high  for  me/  The  ‘  rock  ’  is  the  place  of  safety,  out  of 
reach  of  his  foes.  Some  commentators  are  inclined  to  identify  it 
with  Jerusalem.  In  the  Vulgate  the  sense  is  obviously  that  the 
psalmisfs  hopes  are  set  on  God,  as  on  a  high  and  impregnable  rock 
of  safety.  God  is  a  ‘  strong  tower  ’  of  refuge  and  defence  against 
the  foe.  Cf.  Prov.  xviii.  io. 

It  is  possible,  as  has  been  said,  to  understand  the  fines  terrae  as 
the  land  of  exile.  In  that  view  the  whole  psalm  must  be  taken  as 
descriptive  of  the  feelings  of  the  Jewish  people  in  the  Babylonian 
Exile.  They  long  ardently  to  return  to  the  sanctuary  of  God  in 
Jerusalem.  They  look  forward  (verses  6-9)  to  the  re-establishment 
of  their  nation,  and  to  the  restoration  of  its  ancient  glory.  The 
king  for  whom  they  pray  is  the  Ideal  King,  the  Messias.  This  ex- 
planation  of  the  psalm  (which  is  accepted  by  Knabenbauer)  must 
reject  Da  vi  dic  authorship,  or  suppose  that  the  psalm  was  composed 
by  David,  without  reference  to  the  circumstances  of  his  own  career, 
as  a  prophet  forecasting  the  emotions  of  a  generation  four  hundred 
years  later  than  his  time. 

The  Hebrew  of  verse  3 b  differs  from  the  Vulgate.  It  reads  : 

‘  when  my  heart  fainteth,  Thou  wilt  lead  me  to  a  rock  that  is  too 
high  for  me/  The  ‘  rock  that  is  too  high  for  me  *  is,  in  Hebrew, 
sur  yarum  mimmenni.  For  yarum  mimmenni  the  Greek  translators 
read  yeromemeni,  exaltasti  me.  The  ‘  rock  '  referred  to  does  not  fit 
well  into  the  context — though  a  meaning  can  be  found  for  it,  as 
above.  An  easy  emendation  of  the  Hebrew — reading  bassar,  instead 
of  besur — would  give  the  sense  :  ‘  In  trouble  which  is  too  great  for 
me,  Thou  guidest  me  ’  (or,  ‘  mayest  Thou  guide  me  ’). 

5.  Inhabitabo  and  protegar  are  optative  :  ‘  Fain  would  I  dwell/  etc. 


224 


THE  PSALMS 


The  Tent  is,  probably,  the  Lord’s  dwelling-place  in  Jerusalem.  There 
the  Lord  protects  the  city  of  His  choice,  as  the  eagle  protects  its  young 
with  outstretched  pinions.  Cf.  Exod.  xix.  4  ;  Ps.  xxxv.  8. 

6.  The  Lord  has  been  kind  to  him  hitherto  and  will  be  kind  to 
him  now  again. 

Hczr  editas,  a  fixed  and  sure  possession.  The  sense  of  the  Vulgate 
is  :  “  Thou  rewardest  those  that  fear  Thee.”  The  Hebrew  is  some- 
what  obscure.  It  says  :  *  Thou  givest  the  inheritance  of  those  that 
fear  Thy  name/  It  has  been  suggested  to  read  >aresheth  (wish)  instead 
of  'fmshshath  (possession  of)  ;  this  would  give  the  sense  :  *  Thou  hast 
granted  the  desire  of  those  who  fear  Thy  name.’ 

7.  Since  no  one  could  reasonably  pray  that  a  particular  king 
might  reign  for  ever,  the  prayer  is  probably  to  be  understood  as 
uttered  for  a  royal  house  or  dynasty.  It  could,  thus,  be  spoken  by 
David  himself  in  view  of  Nathan’s  promise,  and  in  view  of  the  Messias 
who  was  to  restore  and  make  perpetual  the  glory  of  David’s  house. 

8.  The  misericordia  and  veritas  are  those  of  the  king.  Who  can 
estimate  them  ?  Who  can  measure  the  grace  which  the  king  received  ? 
The  Hebrew  seems  here,  again,  to  imply  that  “  Graciousness  ”  and 
“  Truth  ”  are,  as  it  were,  two  angels  of  God  who  protect  the  royal 
throne  :  “  Send  forth  Graciousness  and  Truth,  that  they  may  guard 
him/’  Cf.  xxxix.  12. 

Quis  is  due  to  the  reading  by  the  Greek  translators  of  the  Hebrew 
man  (imperative  piel  of  manah,  ‘  appoint  ’)  as  the  Aramaic  interro¬ 
gative  pronoun,  man.  The  Greek  translators  were  obviously  more 
familiar,  as  we  should  expect,  with  Aramaic  than  with  Hebrew. 
The  Vulgate  text,  as  it  stands,  must,  of  course,  be  explained  in  the 
way  just  suggested. 

9.  The  singer  will  announce  God’s  goodness  in  hearing  his  petitions  : 
he  will  announce  it  by  daily  songs  of  praise.  This  is  his  vow  and  daily 
will  he  fulfil  it. 


PSALM  LXI 


CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD 


THE  theme  of  the  psalm,  as  we  see  from  the  refrain  (2-3,  6-7), 
is  quiet  confidence  in  God  in  time  of  need.  The  special 
need  or  trouble  in  which  the  psalmist  finds  himself  is  the 
treacherous  hostility  of  slanderers  who  would  destroy  him  as 
one  casts  down  a  tumbling  wall.  But  the  psalmist  feels  himself 
secure  in  God’s  care  and  he  telis  the  people  generally  to  put  ali  their 
trust,  like  himself,  in  God.  His  enemies  are  but  frail  mortals  and 
the  poet  warns  them  not  to  put  their  hope  in  violence  and  injustice. 
The  final  verse  is  an  address  to  God  recalling  His  mercy,  but  em- 
phasising  also  His  justice. 

The  psalm  may,  probably,  be  assigned  to  the  period  of  AbsalonPs 
revolt,  when  David  was  surrounded  by  hypocritical  foes  who  were 
convinced  that  David’s  kingship  was  tottering  like  a  tumbling  wall. 
The  general  tone  of  the  psalm  recalls  that  of  Ps.  iv,  xxxviii,  xli,  xlii. 
The  theme  of  the  psalm  recalls  the  oracle  given  to  Isaias  for  Achaz 
(Is.  vii,  4  ;  cf.  vii.  9).  Most  commentators  note  particularly  the 
general  likeness  cf  Psalm  lxi  to  Psalm  iv. 

1.  In  finem,  Pro  Idithun,  1.  For  the  choir-master,  ...  A  psalm  of 
Psalmus  David.  David. 


2.  Nonne  Deo  subjecta  erit  2. 
anima  mea  ?  ab  ipso  enim  salu¬ 
tare  meum. 

3.  Nam  et  ipse  Deus  meus,  et  3. 
salutaris  meus  :  susceptor  meus, 

non  movebor  amplius. 

4.  Quousque  irruitis  in  horni-  4. 

nem  ?  interficitis  universi  vos  : 
tamquam  parieti  inclinato  et 
maceriae  depulsae  ? 

5.  Verumtamen  pretium  me-  5. 

um  cogitaverunt  repellere,  cu¬ 
curri  in  siti  :  ore  suo  benedice¬ 
bant,  et  corde  suo  maledicebant. 


Is  not  my  soul  submissive  unto  God  ? 
For  from  Him  comes  my  rescue. 

For  He,  indeed,  is  my  God,  and  my 
Saviour,  my  Protector  ; 

No  more  shall  I  be  shaken  ! 

How  long  will  ye  set  upon  a  man  and  slay 
him,  all  of  you  ? 

(As  one  casts  down)  a  tumbling  wall,  a 
falling  fenee  ! 

All  their  thought  is  set  011  destroying 
my  honour. 

In  thirst  I  wander  here  and  there, 
With  their  mouth  they  bless,  and  in 
their  heart  they  curse. 


6.  Verumtamen  Deo  subjecta  6. 
esto  anima  mea  :  quoniam  ab 
ipso  patientia  mea. 

7.  Quia  ipse  Deus  meus,  et  7. 
salvator  meus  :  adjutor  meus, 

non  emigrabo. 


But  be  thou,  my  soul,  submissive  to  God  ! 
For  on  Him  my  patient  endurance  de- 
pends ; 

For  He  is  my  God  and  my  Saviour,  my 
Rescuer  ; 

I  will  not  depart  from  Him. 


15 


225 


226 


THE  PSALMS 


8.  In  Deo  salutare  meum,  et  8. 
gloria  mea  :  Deus  auxilii  mei, 
et  spes  mea  in  Deo  est. 

g.  Sperate  in  eo  omnis  con-  9. 
gregatio  populi,  effundite  coram 
illo  corda  vestra  :  Deus  adjutor 
noster  in  aeternum. 


10.  Verumtamen  vani  filii  ho-  .  10. 
minum,  mendaces  filii  hominum 

in  stateris  :  ut  decipiant  ipsi  de 
vanitate  in  idipsum. 

11.  Nolite  sperare  in  iniqui-  11. 

tate,  et  rapinas  nolite  concu¬ 
piscere  :  divitiae  si  affluant,  no¬ 
lite  cor  apponere. 

12.  Semel  locutus  est  Deus,  12. 
duo  haec  audivi,  quia  potestas 

Dei  est, 

13.  Et  tibi  Domine  miseri-  13. 
cordia  :  quia  tu  reddes  unicui¬ 
que  juxta  opera  sua. 


I11  God  is  my  salvation  and  my  honour, 
(He  is)  my  rescuing  God,  and  my  hope 
rests  011  God. 

Put  your  trust  in  Him,  all  ye  Congrega- 
tion  of  the  People, 

Pour  out  your  hearts  before  Him  ; 
God  is  our  Helper  for  ever. 


Vain,  in  truth,  are  the  children  of  men  ; 

Deceitful  are  the  sons  of  men  in  the 
weighing-scales  ; 

So  that  in  their  utter  emptiness  they 
completely  deceive. 

Put  not  your  trust  in  injustice,  and  covet 
not  plunder. 

If  wealth  ffow  in,  set  not  the  heart 
thereon. 

Once  did  the  Lord  spealc,  and  these  two 
things  I  heard  : 

‘  Power  is  God’s, 

And  to  Thee,  Lord,  belongeth  pity  *  : 

‘  Thou  requitest  each  one  according  to 
his  works.’ 


1.  In  Ps.  xxxviii  we  ha  ve  the  superscription,  ipsi  Idithun,  here, 
and  in  Ps.  lxxvi,  pro  Idithun.  The  Massoretic  text  distinguishes 
apparently  between  Yedithun  as  the  name  of  a  choir-master  of  David, 
in  Ps.  xxxviii,  and  Yeduthun  as  perhaps  the  name  of  a  choir  of  ofhcial 
singers,  in  this  psalm  and  in  Ps.  lxxvi.  In  this  psalm,  and  in  Ps.  lxxvi, 
it  has  been  proposed  to  translate  the  superscription  :  ‘  Property  of 
the  choir-master  of  the  Yeduthun — group  of  singers/  It  is  to  be  noted, 
however,  that  the  Vulgate  (folio wing  the  Greek)  reads  Idithun  in  all 
the  three  psalm  passages  above  referred  to.  Jerome  also  reads  in 
all  three  places  Idithun.  Yeduthun  (read  also  Yedithun)  appears  as 
a  music  director  of  David  in  I  Paral.  ix.  16  ;  xvi.  38,  etc.  This 
Yeduthun  was  probably  the  same  as  the  chief-singer  Ethan  (I  Paral. 
xv.  17, 19).  There  is  no  evidence,  outside  the  three  psalm  tities,  xxxviii. 
1  ;  lxi.  1 ;  lxxvi.  1,  for  the  existence  of  a  group  of  ofhcial  singers  called 
Yeduthun,  or  Yedithun.  The  three  Yeduthun  psalms  are  somewhat 
similar  in  theme,  emphasising  the  shortness  of  man's  life  and  the 
futilitv  of  his  striving,  when  looked  at  sub  specie  ceternitatis. 

2.  The  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  Verily  unto  God  (better,  Yahweh)  my  soul 
is  stili '  ;  the  stillness  is  the  undisturbed  peace  of  fullest  conhdence. 
The  particle  ’akh  (verily)  begins  verses  2,  3,  5,  6,  7,  10.  Cf.  Ps.  xxxviii. 
Subjecta,  ‘  submissive/  ‘  resigned/  Submission  is  shown  by  stillness. 

3.  Nam  et  ipse,  for  '  surely  He /  The  Greek  text  has  changed  the 
Hebrew  here,  as  often,  where  names  or  epithets  of  God  are  in  question. 
The  Hebrew  runs  :  “  Verily  He  is  my  Rock,  my  Help,  my  Fortress/’ 
Amplius  translates  the  Hebrew  rabbah  (greatly)  which  is,  perhaps,  a 
corruption  of  the  familiar  word  selah. 


CONFIDENCE  IN  GOD 


227 


4.  ‘  Why  will  they  rush  upon  a  man  (the  psalmist)  to  cast  him 
down,  as  one  casts  down  a  tottering  wall  or  fenee  ?  ’  (Not,  ‘  as  if  he 
were  a  tottering  wall/  etc.).  Tanquam  represents  the  Hebrew  ke — 
'as  happens  in  the  case  of/  The  tottering  wall  would  symbolise 
well  the  uncertainty  of  David’s  position  when  he  had  to  fly  from 
Jerusalem  to  escape  from  Absalom. 

Maceria,  a  wall  or  fenee  (Ps.  cxliii.  14  Ruina  macerice=a.  breach 
in  the  city-wall). 

5.  Pretium  seems,  in  view  of  the  Hebrew,  to  mean  honour,  position 
of  dignity.  The  psalmist ’s  enemies  wish  to  cast  him  down  from  his 
place  of  honour. 

Cucurri  in  siti  is  sometimes  explained  as  implying  the  speed  of 
the  psalmist ’s  flight  from  his  foes  with  its  consequent  fatigue  and 
thirst.  The  Hebrew  is  here  different  :  “  They  plan  to  drag  (him) 
down  from  his  height  ;  in  a  lie  they  clelight.”  The  Greek  text,  as  it 
stands,  might  be  rendered  either  by  cucurri  or  by  cucurrerunt,  referring 
thus,  either  to  the  haste  of  the  psalmist ’s  flight,  or  to  the  speed  of  his 
enemies’  pursuit.  The  reference  to  lying  in  the  Hebrew  fits  in  best 
with  what  follows.  The  enemies  of  the  psalmist  greet  in  friendly 
fashion  with  their  lips,  but  in  their  heart  is  a  curse.  The  difference 
between  the  Massoretic  text  and  the  Vulgate  in  verse  5  cannot  be 
fully  accounted  for. 

Cucurri  in  siti  takes  the  place  of  yirsu  kazabh — f  in  a  lie  they  de- 
light  ’  :  yirsu  became  for  the  Greek  translators  yarusu  =  eSpa/xov 
(which  the  Vulgate  took  as  a  singalar,  cucurri)  :  kazabh  (a  lie)  could 
not  easily  be  transformed  so  as  to  give  any  basis  for  the  translation 
eV  8'ipei  {in  siti),  but,  possibly,  the  Greek  h  pev8et  came  to  be  read 
as  €V  8l\J/€L. 

The  pretium  meum  of  the  Vulgate  represents  a  Hebrew  text, 
masethi :  the  Massoretic  text  has  misse,ethi, — '  from  my  high  posi¬ 
tion.’  The  Greek  ti/xt?  combines,  to  some  extent,  the  two  Hebrew 
readings. 

6.  7.  The  refrain.  Cf.  verses  2-3. 

Patientia,  ‘  endurance,  perse verance.’  In  God  he  hopes  patiently 
for  better  things. 

Emigrabo — go  forth  from  God.  Hebrew  :  ‘  I  shall  not  be  shaken/ 

8.  In  Hebrew  :  “  On  God  rests  my  safety  and  honour  :  my 

Strong  Rock,  my  Refuge  is  God.”  The  Greek  text  has  toned  down 
the  anthropomorphisms  of  the  Hebrew. 

9.  Omnis  Congregatio  populi,  the  whole  nation  of  Israel.  The 
Massoretic  text,  reading  ‘  eth  (time)  where  the  Greek  translators  read 
‘  adath  (congregation),  means  :  “  Trust  Him  at  all  times,  ye  people  !  ” 

10.  Between  verses  9  and  10  some  commentators  would  insert 
again  the  refrain  of  verse  2.  In  God  alone,  and  not  in  men,  must 
one  trust.  When  men  are  tested  on  the  scales  they  will  disappoint 
every  expectation  that  has  been  placed  in  tliem.  They  shoot  up 


228 


THE  PSALMS 


(according  to  the  Hebrew)  in  the  balance,  and  are  altogether  light 
and  valueless.  ‘  They  are  lighter  than  a  breath  ’  (Hebrew). 

In  idipsum,  ‘  altogether  ’  (c/.  iv.  9)  :  they  are  altogether  decepti  ve 
because  of  their  emptiness  and  worthlessness.  If  man,  then,  is 
weighed  in  the  balance  of  worth,  his  scale  shoots  up  as  if  it  were 
empty,  and  he  utterly  deceives  all  hopes  set  on  him. 

The  Hebrew  mehebhel  ‘  [lighter]  than  a  breath  ’  was  talcen  by  the 
Greek  translators  as='  from  emptiness  ’  :  hence  de  vanitate.  Ut 
decipiant  is  due  to  reading  le‘oloth  (‘  unto  injustice/  ‘  unto  deception') 
instead  of  the  Massoretic  texi;  la‘aloth  (‘  when  they — the  scales — mount 
up  ’)• 

That  a  contrast  is  intended  between  two  sets  of  filii  hominum 
because  the  Hebrew  has  in  the  first  clause  bene  ’adam,  and  in  the 
second  bene  ’ish,  is  not  very  probable.  More  likely  we  ha  ve  here  an 
ordinary  instance  of  parallelism. 

11.  Iniquitas,  according  to  the  Hebrew,  is  extortion,  or  wealth 
due  to  extortion  (rapincz). 

Cor  apponere,  ‘  to  care/  f  to  set  the  heart  on/ 

12.  The  verse  obviously  means  :  God  spoke  once,  and  I  heard 
Him  say  two  things  :  (a)  ‘  Strength  and  loving-kindness  belong  to 
God  *  ;  (b)  ‘  God  requites  each  one  according  to  his  deeds/  For  the 
form  of  this  verse  compare  the  style  of  Proverbs  in  such  verses  as 
xxx.  21,  29,  etc. 


PSALM  LXII 


THE  POSSESSION  OF  GOD 

THE  Central  thought  of  this  psalm  is  that  the  highest  good, 
and  chiefest  blessing  is  the  possession  of  God.  It  is  the  same 
thought  which  we  find  in  Ps.  lxxii.  24-26  ;  xxxv.  8-10  ; 
xciii.  17-19,  etc.  The  reference  to  “  morning  "  in  verses  2  and  7 
led  to  the  use  of  the  psalm  as  a  morning-song  in  the  ancient  Church. 
The  position  of  the  singer  is  ciear.  He  is  far  from  the  House  of 
God  and  longs  to  visit  it  again.  He  lives,  for  the  moment,  among 
enemies  that  seek  his  life  ;  but  he  expects  that  their  overthrow  is 
at  hand.  The  reference  to  the  ‘  desert  '  in  the  title  may  be  due  to 
verse  3.  The  Hebrew  text  makes  it  the  desert  of  Juda  ;  while  in 
the  Vulgate  it  appears  as  the  desert  of  Edom.  The  Edomite  desert 
lay  between  Molada  and  the  Arabah  on  the  route  which  David  had 
to  travel  when  he  fled  to  the  land  of  Moab  (I  Kings  xxii.  3).  The 
*  desert  of  Juda  ’  would  fit  in  with  David 's  movements  both  during 
his  flights  from  Saul,  and  his  retreat  before  Absalom.  If  David  is 
the  author,  verse  12  must  be  taken  as  implying  that  the  poem  was 
written  after  the  death  of  Saul,  when  David  was  really  king.  Thus 
the  psalm  would  be  more  naturally  associated  with  the  time  of  Ab¬ 
salom 's  revolt,  and  ‘  desert  of  Juda  '  would  be  the  better  reading. 
In  view  of  the  probability  that  the  reference  to  the  ‘  desert  ’  in  the 
superscripti  on  is  due  to  the  phrase  ‘  In  the  bleak,  pathless  arid  land  ’ 
of  verse  3,  it  is  important  to  note  that  the  Massoretic  text  may  by  a 
very  slight  change,  be  made  to  mean  :  ‘  Like  a  bleak,  pathless,  arid 
land.'  The  sense  would  be,  then,  that  the  singer  longs  for  God  as 
the  parched  land  longs  for  water  (as  in  Ps.  cxlii.  6  :  anima  mea  sicut 
terra  sine  aqua  tibi),  and  there  would  be  no  reference  to  a  sojourn  of 
the  psalmist  in  a  desert.  The  Syriae  Psalter  takes  this  view  of  the 
text.  This  reading  would  exclude  the  controversy  as  to  whether 
the  psalm  was  written  by  David  in  the  Idumean  or  Judean  desert, 
but  it  leaves  the  question  of  Davidic  authorship  untouched.  To 
obviate  the  difficulty  against  Davidic  authorship  suggested  by  verse  12 
some  commentators  have  proposed  to  regard  that  verse  as  a  late 
addition  to  the  psalm. 


229 


230 


THE  PSALMS 


i.  Psalmus  David  cum  esset 
in  deserto  Idumaeae. 


i.  A  psalm  of  David  when  he  was  in  the 
Edomite  desert. 


2.  0  God,  my  God,  after  Thee  do  I  long  in 

the  morning  ; 

My  soul  doth  thirst  for  Thee  ; 

And  how  greatly  doth  my  body  thirst 
for  Thee, 

3.  In  the  bleak,  pathless,  arid  land  ! 

Thus  was  I  wont  to  appear  before  Thee 

in  the  Sanctuary, 

To  look  upon  Thy  power  and  Thy 
majesty  : 

4.  For  Thy  graciousness  is  more  pleasing 

than  life 

And  my  lips  shall  praise  Thee. 


2.  Deus  Deus  meus  ad  te  de 
luce  vigilo. 

Sitivit  in  te  anima  mea,  quam 
multipliciter  tibi  caro  mea. 

3.  In  terra  deserta,  et  invia, 
et  inaquosa  :  sic  in  sancto  ap¬ 
parui  tibi,  ut  viderem  virtutem 
tuam,  et  gloriam  tuam. 

4.  Quoniam  melior  est  miseri¬ 
cordia  tuo  super  vitas  :  labia 
mea  laudabunt  te. 

5.  Sic  benedicam  te  in  vita  5. 
mea  :  et  in  nomine  tuo  levabo 
manus  meas. 

6.  Sicut  adipe  et  pinguedine  6. 
repleatur  anima  mea  :  et  labiis 
exsultationis  laudabit  os  meum. 

7.  Si  memor  fui  tui  super  7. 
sfratum  meum,  in  matutinis 
meditabor  in  te  : 

8.  Quia  fuisti  adjutor  meus. 

Et  in  velamento  alarum  tua¬ 
rum  exsultabo, 

9.  Adhaesit  anima  mea  post 
te  :  me  suscepit  de  tera  tua. 

10.  Ipsi  vero  in  vanum  quae¬ 
sierunt  animam  meam,  introi¬ 
bunt  in  inferiora  terrae  : 

11.  Tradentur  in  manus  gla¬ 
dii,  partes  vulpium  erunt. 

1 2 .  Rex  vero  laetabitur  in  Deo, 
laudabuntur  omnes  qui  jurant  in 
eo  :  quia  obstructum  est  os  lo- 
quentium  iniqua. 


Thus  will  I  praise  Thee  all  my  life  long, 
Anduntothe  praise  of  Thy  name  will  I 
lift  up  my  hands. 

As  with  marrow  and  fat  my  soul  is  sated  ; 
My  mouth  doth  speak  praise  with  ex- 
ulting  lips, 

When  I  think  of  Thee  on  my  couch, 

And  muse  on  Thee  in  the  early  morning. 


8.  For  Thou  art  my  helper 

And  in  the  shelter  of  Thy  wings  I  re- 
joice. 

9.  With  all  my  soul  I  cling  to  Thee  : 

Thy  right  hand  doth  guard  me. 

10.  But  those — fruitlessly  do  they  seek  my 

life  : 

Down  into  the  underworld  they  go. 

11.  They  are  given  over  to  the  sword, 

And  become  the  portion  of  foxes. 

12.  But  the  King  rejoiceth  in  God, 

All  those  who  swear  by  him  do  boast ; 
For  closed  is  the  mouth  of  those  who 
speak  things  godless. 


2-4.  The  longing  of  the  soul  for  God  is  described  as  in  Ps.  xli.  3/. 
under  the  symbolism  of  thirst. 

Vigilo  represents  a  Hebrew  word  which  means  to  long  for.  The 
Hebrew  runs  :  “  My  soul  thirsts  for  Thee  ;  my  flesh  pines  for  Thee  in 
a  land  bleak,  parched  and  waterless/'  The  de  luce  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  Hebrew  verb  used  here,  shahar,  is  cognate  with  shahar,  *  the 
dawn/  and  may  ha  ve  meant  originally,  *  to  watch  for  the  dawn/ 

Quam  multipliciter  implies  a  misreading  of  the  Hebrew  verb 
kamah  (‘  to  pine  ’),  as  kammah  (‘  how  greatly  ’)  :  in  the  Latin  we 
must  read  it  with  sitivit.  Tibi  is  governed  by  sitivit.  The  verse 
expresses  longing  for  the  Sanctuary. 

3.  Sic.  With  the  same  kind  of  longing  did  the  psalmist  formerly 
look  for  God  in  His  own  dwelling.  The  three  qualities  of  God  which 
the  poet  formerly  longed  to  see  displayed  in  Gods  House,  and  now 


THE  POSSESSION  OF  GOD 


231 


longs  to  realise  again,  when  he  is  far  from  the  sanctuary,  are  strength 
and  glory  and  graciousness.  Possibly  the  reference  in  these  is  to  the 
splendour  of  the  ritual  ;  but  it  is  also  possible  that  the  reference  is 
not  to  the  perception  of  the  visible  glory  of  God  in  the  ritual  of  the 
Sanctuary,  but  to  the  inner  vision  by  which  the  psalmist  became 
intimately  conscious  of  God’s  presence  and  quali ties. 

4.  Note  that  the  psalmist  passes  from  God’s  greatness — which, 
after  all,  it  was  not  good  to  gaze  on — to  His  graciousness,  His  love,  a 
love  of  which  the  singer  has  already  had  experience.  The  ancient 
Israelites  thought  much  of  life,  yet  here  it  is  said  that  the  conscious- 
ness  of  God’s  love  and  grace  is  more  and  better  than  life. 

Vitas,  the  Hebrew  idiom,  in  which  life  appears  as  a  plural. 

5  .Sic  :  as  he  has  once  given  praise  to  God  in  His  Sanctuary,  so 
will  he  give  it  all  his  days.  His  faith  is  now  so  intense  that  he  can 
pray  and  praise,  just  as  if  he  were  in  the  House  of  God. 

6,  7.  The  praise  of  the  Lord  is  the  deepest  joy  of  the  soul ;  it  is  a 
greater  joy  than  that  of  sharing  in  the  rich  meats  (the  adeps  and 
pinguedo)  of  the  sacrificial  banquets.  It  is  a  joy,  too,  which  is  not 
dependent  altogether  on  the  public  ritual  of  worship.  One  can  praise 
God  on  one’s  couch  during  the  watches  of  the  night.  (. In  matutinis  ; 
Hebrew,  ‘  night  vigils/) 

Si,  ‘  when/ 

8.  The  reason  of  his  present  rejoicing  is,  that,  though  he  is  far 
from  God’s  sanctuary,  he  feels  himself  secure  in  Gods  protecting 
presence. 

9.  Adhcerere  post  is  a  Hebraism. 

10-11.  He  is  confident  that  his  foes  will  fail,  they  will  fall  on  the 
battlefield,  and  be  left  unburied  to  become  the  prey  of  jackals.  In 
vanum  :  the  Greek  translators  read  leshaw' ,  *  unto  destruction/  The 
parallelism  would  suggest  lisheol,  1  unto  Sheol/ 

Inferiora  terres,  the  underworld  :  Vulpes — the  Hebrew  word 

probably  means  jackal  as  well  as  fox. 

12.  It  would  be  an  easy  view  to  maintain  that  this  verse  is  not 
a  part  of  the  original  poem.  It  is  difficult  to  think  of  David  thus 
speaking  of  himself.  If  the  verse  is  original  the  dangers  which 
threaten  must  be  thought  of  as  the  same  for  the  king  and  his  ad- 
herents.  Those  who  swear  by  the  king,  are  those  who  adhere  to  him. 
In  eo  might,  however  refer  to  God,  and  the  meaning,  then,  would  be, 
that  the  king,  like  all  who  are  faithful  to  God,  will  triumph  over  his 
foes.  To  close  the  mouths  of  the  enemy  means  to  deprive  them  of 
all  opportunity  of  boasting. 


PSALM  LXIII 


A  PRAYER  FOR  THE  PUNISHMENT  OF 

SLANDERERS 


THE  psalmist  deals  with  the  conflict  between  the  just  and  the 
impious.  He  sees  himself,  as  one  of  the  just,  threatened  by 
treachery — especially  by  calumny.  But,  at  the  very  moment 
when  his  enemies  are  rejoicing  over  the  apparent  success  of 
their  schemes,  God’s  judgment  falis  on  them.  This  will  be  for  all 
men  a  wholesome  lesson  ;  but  the  just  will  rejoice  in  their  God. 

Modern  critics,  for  the  most  part,  regard  this  psalm  as  post-exilic. 
They  find  echoes  in  it  of  the  internal  religious  troubles  of  the  late 
period.  The  ‘  just  ’  are  the  faithful  followers  of  the  Law,  the 
Chasidim  or  Asidaioi  of  the  Hellenistic  period,  who  had  to  endure  the 
sneers  and  jibes  and  general  hostility  of  the  ‘  Liberals  ’  of  their  time, 
the  malignantes  and  operantes  iniquitatem  of  the  psalm.  There  is, 
however,  nothing  either  in  the  tone  or  wording  of  the  poem,  which 
would  definitely  exclude  a  pre-exilic  date  or  Davidic  authorship. 


i.  For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of  David. 


2.  Hear,  O  God,  my  prayer  when  I  make 

petition  ! 

Free  me  from  the  fear  of  foes  ! 

3.  Save  me  from  the  band  of  evildoers, 

From  the  multitude  of  sinners  ! 

4.  For  they  have  whetted  their  tongues  like 

a  sword 

They  have  stretched  the  bow — a  thing 
of  bitterness, 

5.  To  shoot  in  secret  at  the  stainless  : 


1.  In  finem,  psalmus  David. 

2.  Exaudi  Deus  orationem 
meam  cum  deprecor  :  a  timore 
inimici  eripe  animam  meam. 

3.  Protexisti  me  a  conventu 
malignantium  :  a  multitudine 
operantium  iniquitatem. 

4.  Quia  exacuerunt  ut  gladi¬ 
um  linguas  suas  :  intenderunt 
arcum  rem  amaram, 

5.  Ut  sagittent  in  occultis  im¬ 
maculatum. 

6.  Subito  sagittabunt  eum,  et  6. 
non  timebunt :  firmaverunt  sibi 
sermonem  nequam. 

Narraverunt  ut  absconderent 
laqueos  :  dixerunt :  Quis  vide¬ 
bit  eos  ? 

7.  Scrutati  sunt  iniquitates  :  7. 

defecerunt  scrutantes  scrutinio. 

Accedet  homo  ad  cor  altum: 

8.  Et  exaltabitur  Deus.  8. 

Sagittae  parvulorum  factae 

sunt  plagae  eorum  : 


Unexpectedly  they  shoot  at  him,  and 
have  no  sense  of  fear  : 

They  hold  firmly  among  themselves  to 
their  iniquitous  scheme  : 

They  teli  how  they  lay  snares  in  secret : 

They  say  :  ‘  Who  will  take  thought  for 
those  ?  ’ 

They  plan  iniquity  :  they  weary  them¬ 
selves  with  scheming. 

If  a  man  give  assent  to  an  arrogant  plan, 

God  will  show  Himself  on  high  ; 

Their  blows  become  mere  children's 
arrows, 


232 


PRAYER  FOR  PUNISHMENT  OF  SLANDERERS  233 


9.  Et  infirmatae  sunt  contra  9. 
eos  linguae  eorum. 

Conturbati  sunt  omnes  qui 
videbant  eos  : 

10.  Et  timuit  omnis  homo.  10. 
Et  annuntiaverunt  opera  Dei 

et  facta  ejus  intellexerunt. 

11.  Laetabitur  justus  in  Do¬ 
mino,  et  sperabit  in  eo,  et  lauda¬ 
buntur  omnes  recti  corde. 


And  powerless  grow  their  tongues  against 
others  : 

Ali  are  amazed  who  see  them  ; 

And  every  man  feareth  : 

And  men  recount  the  works  of  God, 
And  understand  His  deeds. 


11.  The  just  man  is  glad  in  the  Lord,  and 
trusts  in  Him  ; 

And  all  who  are  upright  of  heart 
rejoice. 


2.  The  dread  of  the  foe  is  the  dread  he  inspires. 

3.  The  Hebrew  is  more  vivid.  It  speaks  of  the  “  clamour  ”  of 
the  gathering  that  has  assembled  to  take  counsel  :  ‘  Save  me  from 
the  noisy  throng  of  evildoers  !  ' 

4.  The  chief  act  of  hostility  of  the  enemies  is  their  bitter  speech. 
This  is  the  bow  which  they  stretch — the  “  bitter  thing.”  For  ‘  bow  ' 
the  Hebrew  has  *  arrow/  The  Greek  translators  found  the  phrase 
*  they  ha  ve  stretched  their  arrow  ’  too  difficult.  The  bitter  ‘  thing  * 
suggests  rather  arrow  than  bow. 

5.  The  reference  to  secrecy  shows  that  there  is  question  of  secret. 
calumny — whispering  behind  backs  against  the  psalmist. 

6.  Non  timebunt ;  they  are  not  influenced  by  fear  of  God  or  man. 

Firmaverunt,  etc.,  ‘  they  strengthen  themselves  in  their  vile  plan. 

Narraverunt — they  make  no  secret  of  their  doings  or  pians. 

Ut,  ‘  how/ 

The  eos  may  be  the  pious  whom  the  godless  contemptuously 
regard  as  God-forsaken.  Or,  it  might  refer  to  the  evil  deeds  of  the 
godless,  who  would  here  demand  :  “  Who  taketh  notice  of  what  we 
do  ?  ”  i. e.,  we  need  fear  no  divine  retribution. 

7.  Scrutati  sunt,  ‘  plan/  ‘  clevise/ 

Defecerunt  scrutantes  scrutinio,  ‘  exhaust  themselves  in  planning/ 
The  Massoretic  text  is  not  very  satisfactory.  Reading  tammonu, 
instead  of  tamnu,  the  Hebrew  may  be  taken  as  a  cry  of  triumph  of 
the  impious  :  ‘  We  are  ready.  A  scheme  well  thought  out/  For 
hephes  mehuppas  (‘  a  scheme  well  planned  ')  the  Greek  translators, 
grouping  the  consonants  of  the  two  words  differently,  read,  hophesim 
haphos  (. scrutantes  scrutinium,  or  scrutinio).  Defecerunt  is  due  to  the 
substitution  of  tammu  (‘  they  were  exhausted  ’)  for  tamnu,  or  tammonu 
(‘  we  are  ready  ’). 

Accedet  homo  ad  cor  altum,  as  it  stands  in  the  Vulgate,  may  be  taken 
as  the  protasis  of  which  verse  8  is  the  apodosis  :  ‘  If  a  man  conceives. 
an  arrogant  design,  God’s  judgment  comes  upon  him  all  at  once/ 
The  Hebrew  is  very  different.  ‘  The  interior  of  each  one,  and  heart 
is  deep  (or,  deceitful)/  The  Septuagint  translators  read  karebh  ’ishr 


234 


THE  PSALMS 


*  a  man  draws  nigh/  instead  of  kerebh  ’ish,  ‘  the  interior  of  a  man/ 
The  Latin  takes  cor  altum  as  governed  by  the  verb  accedet.  In  the 
Hebrew  lebh  (cor)  is  parallel  to  kerebh  ('  interior  ’).  Altum  represents 
the  Hebrew  ‘amok  (‘  deep  ’).  The  Hebrew  would  be  represented  in 
Latin  by  Interiora  hominis,  et  cor,  altum.  It  is  interesting  to  find  that 
here,  as  in  most  cases  where  the  Massoretic  and  Vulgate  texts  differ, 
the  two  texts  can  be  traced  back  to  a  single  Hebrew  consonantal  text.1 

8.  Exaltabitur  Deus  :  God  rises  up  against  the  proudly  scheming 
sinner.  Here  the  Massoretic  text  has  wayyorem  * Elohim  hes  pithe,om 
hayu  makkotham :  *  God  smites  them  with  an  arrow.  At  once  their 
smiting  takes  place/ 

For  wayyorem  ’ Elohim  ‘  and  God  smites  them/  the  Greek  translators 
read,  vifyarum  ’ Elohim ,  ‘  and  God  is  high  (exalted)/  As  they  could 
not  read  es  (arrow)  with  the  preceding  words,  as  they  understood 
them,  the  translators  made  it  the  predicate  of  the  following  phrase, 
sagittce  parvulorum  factce  sunt  plagce  eorum.  The  parvuli  are  due  to 
the  reading  of  pithe>om  (‘  suddenly  ')  as  pHhayim  (‘  simple/  vqirioi, 
parvuli,  cf.  Ps.  cxiv.  6).  Here  again  the  two  texts  go  back  to  the 
same  primitive  consonantal  text.  Jerome  translates  here  :  Sagittabit 
ergo  Deus  jaculo  repentino  :  inferentur  plagce  eorum.  He  obviously 
took  hes  and  pithe'om  together  as  meaning,  ‘  with  a  sudden  arrow  ’  ; 
this  is  not  so  good  an  arrangement  of  the  Hebrew  text  as  that  sug- 
gested  above  : 

*  God  smites  them  with  an  arrow  ; 

All  at  once  (i. e.  unexpectedly)  their  smiting  takes  place.’ 

The  Vulgate  text  can  be  understood  as  meaning  that  the  blows 
(not  the  smitings)  of  the  foes  will  be  as  harmless  as  if  children  inflicted 
them. 

9.  Et  infirmatce  sunt,  etc.,  the  Massoretic  text  with  slight  emenda-* 
tion  reads  :  ‘  And  he  maketh  to  stumble  against  them  their  tongue/ 


1  One  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  Hebrew  of  7 b  is  incomplete.  One  would 
expect  some  such  parallelism  as  : 

Perverse  is  man 

And  his  heart  is  deep  {i. e.  unfathomable) . 

Lebh  (heart)  in  its  present  position  is  not  at  all  Hebrew-like  :  libbo  (his 
heart)  would  be  far  more  natural.  and  idiomatic.  A  word  for  ‘  perverse  ’  has, 
perhaps,  been  corrupted  into  kerebh.  Schlogl  ( Pscilmen )  suggests  ‘ikkesh 
(‘  twisted,’  ‘  crooked  ’).  There  is  a  similar  thought  in  Jer.  xvii.  9  : 

'  The  heart  is  “  decper  ”  than  all  things, 

And  full  of  malice. 

Who  knoweth  it  ?  ’ 

On  the  basis  of  this  text  of  Jeremias,  Duhm,  Wellhausen,  and  others  pro- 
pose  to  read  in  verse  7  ' anush  (‘  incurably  evil  ')  instead  of  ‘ish  (man).  This 
would  give  the  parallelism  :  ‘  The  interior  is  incurably  evil,  and  the  heart  is 
deep.’  (The  Massoretic  text  of  Jeremias  has  '  treacherous  ’  ;  but  ‘  deep  ’  is 
better.)  It  would  be  a  sort  of  proverb.  The  substitution  of  ' ish  for  ' anush 
would  be  explicable  by  the  fact  that  another  word  with  the  same  consonants  as 
'anush,  viz.  ’enosh,  means  ‘  man.’ 


PRAYER  FOR  PUNISHMENT  OF  SLANDERERS  235 


There  are  different  readings  of  the  Greek.  The  sense  of  the  Vulgate 
is  substantially  that  of  the  Hebrew,  but  the  reference  in  eos  is  obscure, 
as  in  verse  6.  • 

Conturbati  sunt ;  in  the  Hebrew  we  ha  ve,  ‘  shake  the  head  ’ — a 
sign  of  contempt.  (Jer.  xlviii.  27) 

10.  All  men  talk  of  the  judgment  that  has  overtaken  the  impious : 
it  serves  as  a  salutary  lesson.  But  it  only  impels  the  just  to  hide 
himself  more  complet ely  in  the  protection  of  the  Lord. 


PSALM  LXIV 


THANKSGIVING  FOR  GOD’S  FAVOURS 

THIS  psalm  represents  the  people  gathered  together  in  the 
Temple  to  praise  and  thank  the  Lord  for  His  favours  ;  [a)  for 
forgiveness  of  sin  which  had  called  for  punishment  (verses  2-4) ; 
(b)  for  His  merciful  providence  in  nature  and  history  (verses 
5-9)  ;  and,  (c)  for  His  most  recent  blessing — a  springtime  full  of 
promise.  Apparently  a  season  of  drought,  which  the  people  acknow- 
ledge  to  have  been  deserved  by  their  sins,  has  been  followed  by 
favourable  rains.  The  thanksgiving  which  the  people  had  vowed  to 
the  Lord  (verse  2),  should  He  hear  their  prayers,  is  conveyed  in  this 
hymn.  It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  nature-poems  of  the 
Psalter.  It  resembles  Ps.  lxvi  in  its  main  motif. 

The  superscription  of  the  psalm  in  the  Septuagint  and  Vulgate 
connects  the  poem  with  the  exilic  prophets  Jeremias  and  Ezechiel, 
and  apparently  assigns  its  composition  to  the  period  of  the  return 
from  the  Babylonian  Exile.  The  ascription  to  Jeremias  and  Ezechiel, 
and  the  reference  to  the  Exile  are  absent  from  the  Massoretic  text. 
All  three  texts  agree  in  ascribing  the  psalm  to  David.  It  is  obvious, 
however,  that  the  poem  could  not  have  for  its  author  David,  Jeremias 
and  Ezechiel,  nor  any  two  of  these  sacred  writers.  Hence  we  may 
safely  disregard  this  title  in  so  far  as  it  speaks  of  authorship.  That 
the  people  are  not  in  Babylon,  but  in  Palestine,  follows  from  verse 
10  and  following  verses,  if  they  are  taken  as  a  description  of  the  effects 
of  fertilising  rains  sent  by  God  in  answer  to  prayer.  Verses  3,  6,  9 
are  very  universalistic  in  tone  and  are  regarded  by  many  modem 
critics  as  proving  the  post-exilic  origin  of  the  psalm.  It  is,  however, 
very  dogmatic  to  assert  that  the  idea  of  God’s  universa!  rule  and 
providence  was  not  famihar  in  the  pre-exilic  period. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  take  literally  the  reference  to  the 
return  from  Exile  in  the  title,  and  to  explain  the  psalm  as  a  song  com- 
posed  to  be  sung  by  homesick  exiles  on  their  way  to  Jerusalem.  In 
Sion,  not  in  Babylon,  the  exiles  may  sing  again  the  songs  of  horne. 
The  Temple  will  be  set  up  again  and  all  men  will  come  to  visit  it. 
‘  Sinners  ’  have  prevailed  over  the  exiles  until  now  ;  but  Israehs  sins 
are  now  forgiven,  and  the  exile  is  loosed  from  the  yoke  of  the  stranger. 

236 


THANKSGIVING  FOR  GOD’S  FAVOURS  237 

How  splendid  it  will  be  to  live  again  in  the  shadow  of  the  Temple  ! 
The  mighty  God  of  Israel  will  do  wonders  once  more  and  will  raise 
His  people  into  power  again.  The  rise  of  Israel  is  foreshadowed  under 
the  symbol  of  a  wonderful  spring  that  has  followed  on  a  season  of 
drought. 

This  view  of  the  origin  and  meaning  of  the  psalm  is  possible. 
Support  for  it  might  be  found  in  Joel  ii.  21-26,  where  the  return  of 
fertility  and  abundance  as  a  token  of  the  return  of  YahwelTs  favour 
after  a  season  of  famine  (Israels  punishment  for  sin)  is  similarly 
described. 

It  is,  however,  easier  and  better  to  take  the  psalm  simply  as  a 
hymn  of  thanks  sung  during  a  Service  of  thanksgiving  which  the 
people  had  vowed  unto  God  if  He  would  graciously  send  them  rain  in 
a  season  of  drought.  Such  a  hymn  might,  obviously,  belong,  as  far 
as  its  theme  is  concerned,  to  any  period  of  Jewish  history.  As  a 
'  song  of  Sion  ’  it  would,  of  course,  be  sung  in  Jerusalem  ;  and,  as  a 
song  of  thanks  for  a  springtime  of  promise,  it  would  thank  the  Lord 
for  His  mercies  towards  the  people  dwelling  in  His  own  land. 


1.  In  finem,  Psalmus  David,  1. 
Canticum  Hieremiae,  et  Ezechie- 

lis  populo  transmigrationis,  cum 
inciperent  exire. 

2.  Te  decet  hymnus  Deus  in  2. 
Sion  :  et  tibi  reddetur  votum  in 
Jerusalem. 

3.  Exaudi  orationem  meam  :  3. 

ad  te  omnis  caro  veniet. 

4.  Verba  iniquorum  praeva-  4. 

luerunt  super  nos  :  et  impietati¬ 
bus  nostris  tu  propitiaberis. 

5.  Beatus,  quem  elegisti,  et  5. 

assumpsisti :  inhabitabit  in 

atriis  tuis. 

Replebimur  in  bonis  domus 
tuae  :  sanctum  est  templum  tu¬ 
um, 

6.  Mirabile  in  aequitate.  6. 

Exaudi  nos  Deus  salutaris 

noster,  spes  omnium  finium  ter¬ 
rae,  et  in  mari  longe. 

7.  Praeparans  montes  in  vir-  7. 

tute  tua,  accinctus  potentia  : 

8.  Qui  conturbas  profundum  8. 

maris  sonum  fluctuum  ejus. 

Turbabuntur  Gentes, 

9.  Et  timebunt  qui  habitant  9. 
terminos  a  signis  tuis  : 

Exitus  matutini,  et  vespere 
delectabis. 


For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of  David. 
A  song  of  Jeremias  and  Ezechiel  for 
the  exiles  when  they  began  to  go 
forth. 


To  Thee  is  due  a  song  of  praise  in  Sion, 
O  God  ! 

And  to  Thee  must  be  paid  a  vow  in 
Jerusalem. 

Hear  Thou  my  prayer  ; 

To  Thee  ali  flesh  cometh. 

Wickedness  hath  been  too  strong  for  us; 
But  Thou  dost  pardon  our  misdeeds. 

Blessed  is  he  whom  Thou  choosest,  and 
takest  to  Thyself, 

That  he  may  dwell  in  Thy  courts. 

We  would  fain  sate  ourselves  with  the 
good  things  of  Thy  House  ; 

Holy  is  Thy  Temple  ; 

Wondrous  in  its  justice  ! 

Hear  us,  O  God,  our  Saviour  ; 

The  hope  of  ali  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
And  of  those  who  are  far  out  on  the  sea; 

Thou  who  hast  established  the  moun- 
tains  in  Thy  strength, 

Girded  with  power  ; 

Thou  who  movest  the  depths  of  the 
ocean, 

And  its  thundering  waves  ; 

The  peoples  are  dismayed,  and  they  who 
dwell  on  (earth’s)  borders 
Dread  Thy  portents. 

The  sunrise  and  the  sunset 
Thou  makest  to  rejoice  ; 


238 


THE  PSALMS 


10.  Visitasti  terram,  et  ine-  10. 
briasti  eam  :  multiplicasti  locu¬ 
pletare  eam. 

Flumen  Dei  repletum  est 
aquis,  parasti  cibum  illorum  : 
quoniam  ita  est  praeparatio  ejus. 

11.  Rivos  ejus  inebria,  multi-  11. 
plica  genimina  ejus  :  in  stilli¬ 
cidiis  ejus  laetabitur  germinans. 

12.  Benedices  coronae  anni  be-  12. 
nignitatis  tuae  :  et  campi  tui 
replebuntur  ubertate. 

13.  Pinguescent  speciosa  de-  13. 
serti  :  et  exsultatione  colles  ac¬ 
cingentur. 

14.  Induti  sunt  arietes  ovium,  14. 
et  valles  abundabunt  frumento  : 
clamabunt,  etenim  hymnum  di¬ 
cent. 


Thou  lookest  on  the  earth,  and  givest  it 
to  drink  ; 

Thou  dost  make  it  fertile  indeed. 

The  river  of  God  is  filled  witli  waters  ; 
Thou  preparest  food  for  those. 

For  so  it  (the  earth)  is  fashioned. 

Fili  Thou  its  streams  ; 

Give  increase  to  its  crops  by  moisture  ; 
It  rejoiceth  while  it  buds  forth. 

Thou  dost  bless  the  whole  circling  year 
of  Thy  bounty, 

And  Thy  fields  are  full  of  plenty. 

Fair  bloom  the  desert-pastures, 

And  the  hilis  are  clad  with  gladness. 

The  rams  of  the  flock  are  thick-fleeced  ; 

And  the  valleys  teem  with  corn. 

They  shout  for  joy,  and  sing  a  hymn  of 
praise  ! 


1.  If  cum  inciperent  exire  means,  when  they  began  to  go  forth 
from  Babylon,  i. e.  to  return  to  Palestine,  the  connection  of  the 
psalm  with  both  Ezechiel  and  Jeremias  is  impossible.  We  cannot 
suppose  that  the  psalm — which  is  mainly  a  thanksgiving  for  a  good 
season,  could  ha  ve  been  written  for  the  Judeans  who  were  *  going  forth  ' 
from  exile.  In  some  texts  of  the  Vulgate  the  name  of  the  prophet 
Aggaeus  appears  also  in  the  title. 

2.  The  Vulgate  text  impii  es  that  a  song  or  Service  of  thanksgiving 
had  been  vowed  to  the  Lord  in  the  unfavourable  season  which  has 
recently  been  followed  by  a  bounteous  spring.  The  ‘  vow  ’  is  the 
Service  of  thanksgiving,  of  which  the  psalm  is  a  portion. 

The  Massoretic  text  of  verse  2  is  usually  rendered  :  ‘  For  Thee 
silence  is  praise/  The  ancient  versions  (Septuagint  and  Syriae)  ha  ve 
taken  the  Hebrew  dumiyah  (silence)  as  if  it  were  domiyah,  a  form  from 
damah  (to  resemble,  and  then,  to  be  suitable).  The  versions  ha  ve 
here  preserved  a  better  tradition  than  the  Massoretic  text — though 
the  phrase,  ‘  For  Thee  silence  is  a  hymn  of  praise  ’  suggests  the  true 
and  beautiful  thought  that  God  is  so  much  above  all  human  praise 
that  man's  humble  adoration  of  silence  is  a  greater  tribute  to  God’s 
glory  than  the  most  beautiful  of  sacred  songs.  The  rendering  of  the 
versions  is  much  more  natural  and  probable  in  view  of  the  occasion 
and  the  general  meaning  of  the  psalm. 

In  Jerusalem  is  not  in  the  Hebrew  ;  but  it  is  supported  by  metre^ 
parallelism,  and  versions. 

3.  The  Hebrew  reads  better  :  ‘  Hearer  of  prayer  ;  to  Thee  cometh 
all  flesh/  Omnis  caro  seems  to  mean  humanity  generally.  It  need 
not  be  supposed  that  the  psalmist  wishes  to  say  that  even  the  prayers 
of  heathens  to  their  gods  come  to  Yahweh.  The  Greek  translators 
read  shema‘  (hear  !)  instead  of  shomea ‘  (hearer  of). 

4.  Verba  iniquorum ,  guilt  of  all  kinds,  the  guilt  of  each  man. 


THANKSGIVING  FOR  GOD’S  FAVOURS  239 

The  first  favour  of  the  Lord  for  which  thanks  is  due  is  forgiveness  of 
sin.  The  unfavourable  agricultural  season  was  itself  a  punishment  of 
sin.  But  God  has  now  pardoned  the  people’s  sin,  and  has  sent  them, 
as  token  of  His  favour,  the  rains  they  had  prayed  for. 

5.  The  first  resuit  of  pardon  is  fellowship  with  God.  This  is 
implied  in  eligere  and  assumere.  Inhabitabit  is  imal=ut  inhabitet. 
The  '  dwelling  ’  is  not  necessarily  to  be  understood  as  actual  living  in 
the  Temple  :  it  may  mean,  simply,  the  consciousness  of  close  fellow¬ 
ship  with  God.  The  union  of  the  people  with  God  was,  of  course, 
best  symbolised  by  the  daily  Service  in  the  Temple.  The  bona  are 
such  as  come  from  the  union  with  God  typified  by  the  Temple- 
worship. 

Sanctum  est  templum,  mirabile  in  cequitate  brings  together  clauses 
which  are  separated  in  the  Massoretic  text.  Verses  $b-6a  run  in  the 
Hebre  w  thus  : 

We  would  fain  sate  ourselves  with  the  good  things  of  Thy  House, 

With  the  holiness  of  Thy  Temple. 

With  wondrous  deeds  of  justice  Thou  hearest  us,  Thou,  our  rescuing  God. 

‘  Temple,’  is  parallel  to  *  House,’  and  the  ‘  wondrous  ends  of 
justice  ’  is  the  beginning  of  a  distinet  clause  which  has  no  reference 
to  the  Temple.  The  Greek  translators  read,  in  verse  5,  kadosh  hekha- 
lekha  (holy  is  Thy  Temple),  instead  of  the  Massoretic  kedosh  hekhalekha 
(the  ‘  holiness  ’  of  Thy  Temple).  Failing  to  see  that  noraoth  Psedek 
(with  dread  deeds  in  justice)  should  be  read  with  ta‘enenu  (thou 
answerest  us),  the  translators  read  it  in  apposition  to  the  preceding, 
Thus,  in  the  Latin,  the  clause  mirabile  in  cequitate,  which  was  originally 
intended  as  a  description  of  God’s  way  of  answ'ering  the  psalmisfs 
prayers,  has  come  to  be  an  epithet  applied  to  the  Temple.  The  Latin 
text,  out  of  all  comparison  with  the  Hebrew,  would  be  taken  as  im- 
plying  that  the  Temple  is  ‘  wonderfal  in  justice  ’  because  of  the 
wondrous  justice  of  the  Lord.  Jerome  renders  the  Hebrew  thus  : 
Replebimur  bonis  domus  tuce  ;  sanctificatione  templi  tui.  Terribilis  in 
justitia  exaudi  nos.  The  Syriae  translates  :  ‘  We  shall  be  sated  with 
the  goodness  of  Thy  House,  with  the  holiness  of  Thy  Temple,  and  with 
Thy  dread  justice.  Hear  us,  our  rescuing  God  !  ' 

God  is  the  object  of  hope  (spes)  of  the  most  distant  lands  ('  ends  of 
the  earth  ’)  and  of  those  '  in  the  distant  ocean  ’  (Hebrew  *  sea  of  the 
far  ones  ’).  The  God  of  Israel  is  then  the  hope  of  all  peoples.  This 
is  very  decided  universalism.  (Instead  of  *  sea  of  the  far  ones,’ 
the  Hebrew  ought,  perhaps,  to  be  made  to  read,  ‘  of  isles  far 
away.’) 

7.  The  omnipotence  of  God  as  Creator.  Prceparare,  ‘  establish  ’ 
cf.  Ps.  lxxxviii.  3  ;  (lxxxviii.  5  ;  xxxii.  14.). 

8.  The  Hebrew  reads  :  ‘  Who  stilis  the  thundering  of  the  seas, 
the  thundering  of  their  waves,  and  the  tumuit  of  the  peoples.’  For 


240 


THE  PSALMS 


the  Massoretic  ‘and  the  tumuit’  [wahlmon), the  Greek translators  read 
yehemun  {turbabuntur) . 

Sonus  fluctuum— fluctus  sonantes.  Cf.  Mark  iv.  40. 

9.  The  termini  are  the  ‘  ends  of  the  earth/  i. e.  the  most  distant 
lands.  They  have  heard  of  the  deeds  of  the  Lord  in  favour  of  His 
own. 

The  exitus  matutini,  et  vespere  are  the  farthest  east  and  west. 
Here  begins  the  description  of  the  Lords  mercy  in  granting  a  good 
season. 

10.  Visitasti,  turned  with  favour  towards.  Inebriasti,  Thou  hast 
given  the  earth  to  drink  of  rain.  We  may  infer  that  there  had  been 
a  drought. 

Multiplicasti  locupletare  is  a  Hebrew  idiom  :  ‘  Thou  hast  made  it 
(=the  earth)  rich  indeed/ 

The  flumen  Dei  is  the  rain,  which  flows  down,  as  through  a  canal, 
or  in  a  defined  bed,  from  the  ‘  upper  ocean  ’  to  the  earth.  The 
Arabs  call  the  rain  ‘  Gods  river/ 

Illorum  must  refer  to  men  (particularly  the  chosen  ones  of 
God). 

Quoniam  ita,  etc.,  the  ejus  refers  to  earth,  and  the  phrase  seems  to 
convey  the  prosaic  sense  :  for  thus  is  it  {i. e.  eartb/s)  nature  fashioned, 
i. e.  it  needs  rain  to  be  fruitful.  For  prcBparatio  cf.  verse  7.  The 
Hebrew  reads  :  Thou  providest  their  corn  when  Thou  thus  preparest 
it  (the  earth)/  The  Greek  translators  read  tfkhunah  {prcBparatio )  ; 
the  Massoretic  text  reads  fkhineha  (Thou  dost  prepare  it).  The 
reference  is  to  the  preparation  of  the  soil  of  the  earth  by  rain.  The 
clause  quoniam  ita  est  prcBparatio  ejus  is  awkward  both  in  Vulgate 
and  Hebrew,  and  many  commentators  have  proposed  to  omit  it  from 
the  text.  Probably,  the  best  way  of  treating  the  passage  would  be 
to  read  its  corn  {i. e.  the  earth’s)  and  to  omit  quoniam  ita,  etc.  We 
should  then  have  the  same  text  which  appears  in  the  translation  of 
Symmachus  :  ‘  Thou  preparest  her  (the  earth’s)  corn/  The  sprouting 
of  the  corn  depends  on  the  coming  of  the  rain. 

11.  The  ejus  here  again  refers  to  terra.  The  rivos  are  the  irrigation 
channels.  In  the  Vulgate  it  is  better  to  take  in  stillicidiis  ejus  with 
multiplica — ‘  make  fruitful  its  produce  with  the  gentle  rains  which 
it  requires/ 

Lcetabitur  germinans  is  an  independent  clause  referring  to  the 
terra,  the  soil.  Germinans,  when  it  buds,  or  sprouts,  i. e.  brings  forth 
vegetation.  The  Hebrew  is  different  :  ‘  Water  her  furrows  ;  level 
her  ridges.  With  gentle  rain  make  her  mellow  :  bless  Thou  her  growth/ 
It  is  not  possible  to  explain  all  the  differences  between  the  Massoretic 
and  Vulgate  texts  in  this  passage  by  deducing  them  from  variant 
readings  of  the  same  primitive  consonantal  text.  Rivos  can,  perhaps, 
be  equated  with  telamim  (furrows)  if  it  is  supposed  that  the  ‘  furrows  ’ 
are  the  irrigation  channels.  Rawweh  (‘  water  ’)  means  to  saturate. 


THANKSGIVING  FOR  GOD’S  FAVOURS  241 

to  drench  and  is  sometimes  used  in  the  sense  of  causing  intoxication. 
Hence  inebria,  renders  it  sufficiently  well. 

Multiplica  genimina  ejus  in  no  wise  corresponds  to  the  Hebrew. 

Stillicidiis  ejus  Icetabitur  germinas  corresponds  to  two  distinet 
phrases  in  the  Hebrew.  ‘  Thou  makest  her  mellow  ’  appears  in  the 
Greek  and  Latin  as  ‘  she  rejoices/  *  Her  growth  — simhah ,  was  read 
by  the  translators  as  somehah,  ‘  while  she  shoots  forth  ’  (germinans). 

*  Thou  blessest  ’  (or,  ‘  bless  Thou  ’)  appears  in  the  Vulgate  as  a  part 
of  the  next  clause  ;  Benedices,  etc.,  and  while  *  crown  ’  is  a  verb  in 
the  Hebrew,  it  is  made  the  object  of  benedices  in  the  Vulgate. 

12.  The  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  Thou  crownest  the  year  of  Thy  goodness, 
and  Thy  chariot-tracks  trickle  with  fat/  The  rain  gives  sure  promise 
of  a  glad  harvest,  so  that  the  year  deserves  already,  even  in  spring- 
time,  to  be  called  a  year  of  God’s  goodness.  The  Hebrew  suggests 
the  idea  that  the  chariot  of  God  has  swept  over  the  land  in  thunder- 
storms  with  accompanying  rains.  Wherever  His  chariot  has  been 
the  earth  is  full  of  rich  promise. 

In  the  translation  corona  anni  has  been  rendered  ‘  the  circling  year/ 
But  the  ‘  crown  of  the  year  ’  might  also  be  the  glory  of  the  flowering 
spring  on  which  God’s  blessing  rests.  The  well-filled  fields  are  the 
ciear  token  of  His  blessing. 

Campi  tui  replebuntur  ubertate  is  very  different  from  the  Massoretic, 

*  Thy  chariot  tracks  trickle  with  fat/  The  Greek  rendering  (which 
is  folio wed  by  the  Vulgate)  seems  to  be  largely  conjectural.  The 
reference  to  tracks  of  God’s  chariot  would  not  be  pleasing  to  the 
Septuagint  translators.  The  ‘  wealth  ’  of  the  fields  suggests  in  general 
the  same  idea  as  the  fat  trickling  in  the  tracks  left  by  the  chariot  that 
has  swept  along  in  the  thunderstorms. 

13.  Speciosa  deserti  :  the  Hebrew  has  ‘  the  pastures  of  the  desert/ 
Speciosa  is  due  to  a  confusion  of  rPoth  (‘  pastures  *  :  singular,  nawah) 
and  nawoth  (‘  beautiful  ’  ;  plural  of  nawah).  We  can  understand 
the  speciosa  deserti  as  the  beautiful  plots  of  pasturage  which  suddenly 
appear  in  the  steppe  (midbar,  is  not  ‘  desert  ’  but  rather  ‘  pasture- 
land  ’  or  ‘  place  over  which  cattle  are  driven  ’) . 

Pinguescent  translates  a  Hebrew  word  which  means  ‘  trickle, 

*  drip  *  ;  it  suggests  the  rich  abundance  of  verdure  produced  by  the 
rains. 

Exultatione  colles  accingentur :  a  very  poetic  reference  to  the 
glory  of  spring-time  as  seen  on  the  flower-decked  hillsides.  The 
hillsides  are  laughing  with  flowers. 

14.  The  poet  sees  the  flocks  and  herds  beginning  to  sport  over 
the  smiling  pastures.  For  arietes  the  Hebrew  has  karim  (‘  pastures  ')  : 

*  the  pastures  are  cloihed  with  sheep/  The  Targum  agrees  with 
Greek  and  Latin  in  reading  ‘  rams/  The  Latin  can  be  explained  as 
referring  to  the  thick  fleeees  (induti)  of  the  well-fed  rams.  It  has 
been  suggested  that  karim  (pastures)  ought  to  be  emended  into 

16 


242 


THE  PSALMS 


harim  (mountains).  We  should  then  ha  ve  the  contrast  ;  the  moun- 
tains)  are  covered  with  sheep,  the  valleys  are  filled  with  corn. 

Valles  abundabunt ,  etc.  :  as  the  pastures  (or  hilis)  ha  ve  their 
adornment  of  sheep,  so  the  valleys  ha  ve  their  carpet  of  young 
corn. 

Clamabunt,  etc.  The  subjects  of  the  verbs  clamabunt  and  dicent 
are  the  hilis  and  valleys  just  described.  In  ali  their  beauty  of  flowering 
teeming  springtime  hilis  and  valleys  vie  with  each  other  in  shout  of 
joy  and  song  of  praise  to  God,  who  has  given  the  fertilising  rain. 


PSALM  LXV 


A  THANKSGIVING 


THIS  psalm  consists  of  two  clearly  distinguished  parts.  The 
hrst  (verses  1-12)  is  an  invitation,  addressed  by  different 
bodies  of  singers  to  all  peoples,  to  sing  the  praises  of  the 
God  of  Israel.  The  hrst  group  of  singers  calls  on  the  peoples 
(verses  1-4)  to  join  in  the  chorus  of  God's  praise  because  of  the  great- 
ness  of  His  deeds.  A  second  group  of  singers  summons  the  nations 
(verses  5-7)  to  behold  the  special  deeds  of  wonder  which  God  has 
wrought  for  Israel ;  and  a  third  group  calls  on  the  peoples  (verses 
8-12)  to  thank  the  God  of  Israel  for  His  mercies  towards  His  people. 
The  second  part  of  the  psalm  (verses  13-20)  is  the  song  of  an  individual 
who  telis  the  pious  of  Israel  of  God’s  favours  and  mercies  towards 
himself,  and  of  his  vow  to  offer  to  the  Lord  a  Service  of  thanksgiving. 
There  is  no  need  to  suppose  that  we  ha  ve  in  the  psalm  the  fusion  of 
two  originally  distinet  poems.  The  hrst  part,  dealing  with  God’s 
goodness  to  the  nation  of  Israel,  serves  as  a  fitting  introduction  to 
the  second  which  describes  God’s  mercy  towards  the  individual  singer. 
The  psalm  was  apparently  composed  for  liturgical  use.  It  formed  a 
portion  of  the  thanksgiving  Service  which  the  psalmist  (and  possibly 
his  friends)  had  vowed  to  the  Lord  for  help  in  seme  time  of  need. 

The  date  of  the  psalm  cannot  be  determined.  The  Vulgate 
superscription  Canticum  psalmi  resurrectionis  is  useless  for  purposes 
of  dating.  ‘  Psalm  of  uprising  *  conveys  no  definite  reference. 
Theodoret  regarded  it  as  implying  that  the  psalm  was  composed  to 
celebrate  the  safe  return  of  the  exiles  from  Babylon — the  return 
being  a  sort  of  rfesurrection  (cf.  Roms.  xi.  15).  But  probably,  the 
idea  of  a  resurrection  is  due  entirely  to  verse  9  of  the  psalm.  The 
title  in  the  Massoretic  text  does  not  contain  anything  corresponding 
to  resurrectionis.  It  may  be  inferred  from  the  psalm  that  the  ritual 
of  the  Temple  is  stili  being  carried  on,  so  that  the  poem  may  be 
assigned  to  the  monarchical  period. 


1.  In  finem,  Canticum  Psalmi  1. 
resurrectionis. 


Jubilate  Deo  omnis  terra, 

2.  Psalmum  dicite  nomini  2. 
ejus  :  date  gloriam  laudi  ejus. 


For  the  choir-leader.  .  .  . 


(The  choir) 

Rejoice  unto  God  all  the  earth  f 
Sing  a  song  of  praise  to  His  Name  ; 
Make  glorious  the  song  of  His  praise  f 

243 


THE  PSALMS 


3.  Say  unto  God  ;  How  majestic  are  Thy 

works,  O  Lord  ! 

Because  of  the  greatness  of  Thy  power 
all  Thy  foes  pay  Thee  homage. 

4.  Let  all  the  earth  adore  Thee  ; 

Let  it  sing  praise  to  Thy  Name  ! 


244 

3.  Dicite  Deo,  quam  terribilia 
sunt  opera  tua  Domine  !  in 
multitudine  virtutis  tuae  menti¬ 
entur  tibi  inimici  tui. 

4.  Omnis  terra  adoret  te,  et 
psallat  tibi  :  psalmum  dicat 
nomini  tuo. 


5.  Venite,  et  videte  opera  5. 
Dei  :  terribilis  in  consiliis  super 
filios  hominum. 

6.  Qui  convertit  mare  in  ari-  6. 
dam,  in  flumine  pertransibunt 
pede  :  ibi  laetabimur  in  ipso. 

7.  Qui  dominatur  in  virtute  7. 
sua  in  aeternum,  oculi  ejus  super 
Gentes  respiciunt :  qui  exaspe¬ 
rant  non  exaltentur  in  semetip- 

sis. 


(One  half  of  the  choir) 

Come  hither  and  behold  the  works  of  God. 
Wonderful  is  He  in  His  pians  for  the 
sons  of  men. 

The  sea  He  changed  into  dry  land, 

Men  passed  dry-shod  throughthe  river. 
Then  did  we  rejoice  in  Him. 

He  ruleth  by  His  power  for  ever  ; 

His  eyes  look  out  on  the  peoples. 

They  who  embitter  Him  shall  not  exalt 
themselves. 


8.  Benedicite  Gentes  Deum 
nostrum  :  et  auditam  facite  vo¬ 
cem  laudis  ejus. 

9.  Qui  posuit  animam  meam 
ad  vitam  :  et  non  dedit  in  com¬ 
motionem  pedes  meos. 

10.  Quoniam  probasti  nos 
Deus  :  igne  nos  examinasti, 
sicut  examinatur  argentum. 

1 1 .  Induxisti  nos  in  laqueum, 
posuisti  tribulationes  in  dorso 
nostro  :  imposuisti  homines  su¬ 
per  capita  nostra. 

Transivimus  per  ignem  et 
aquam  :  et  eduxisti  nos  in  re¬ 
frigerium. 


(The  other  half  of  choir) 

8.  Praise,  O  ye  nations,  our  God  ; 

Let  the  song  of  His  praise  resound  ! 

9.  He  hatli  given  me  life  again  ; 

He  hath  not  permitted  my  feet  to 
stumble. 

10.  For  Thou,  O  God,  hast  put  us  to  the  test. 

With  fire  Thou  hast  tried  us. 

As  sil  ver  is  tried. 

11.  Thou  didst  lead  us  into  a  snare  ; 

Thou  didst  load  us  with  sorrow. 

12.  Thou  didst  make  men  to  march  over  our 

heads ; 

Through  fire  and  water  we  did  pass  ; 
But  Thou  didst  lead  us  forth  to  con- 
solation. 


(A  soloist) 

13.  I  enter  Thy  House  with  burnt  offerings  ; 

I  will  pay  Thee  my  vows 

14.  Which  my  lips  promised. 

And  my  mouth  spoke  in  my  grief. 

15.  Fat  burnt  offerings  I  will  present  to  Thee, 

With  the  smoke  of  sacrificial  rams. 

I  will  offer  Thee  oxen  and  goats. 


13.  Introibo  in  domum  tuam 
in  holocaustis  :  reddam  tibi  vota 
mea. 

14.  Quas  distinxerunt  labia 
mea. 

Et  locutum  est  os  meum,  in 
tribulatione  mea. 

15.  Holocausta  medullata  of¬ 
feram  tibi  cum  incenso  arietum  : 
offeram  tibi  boves  cum  hircis. 


16.  Venite,  audite,  et  narrabo,  16. 
omnes  qui  timetis  Deum,  quanta 
fecit  animae  meae. 

17.  Ad  ipsum  ore  meo  cla-  17. 
mavi,  et  exaltavi  sub  lingua 
mea. 

18.  Iniquitatem  si  aspexi  in 
•corde  meo,  non  exaudiet  Do¬ 
minus. 


Come  hither  until  I  teli 
• — All  ye  who  fear  God — 

What  He  hath  done  for  my  soul. 
I  pray  to  Him  with  my  mouth. 
And  extol  Him  with  my  tongue. 


18.  If  I  perceived  sin  in  my  heart, 

The  Lord  would  not  grant  a  hearing. 


f 


A  THANKSGIVING 


245 


19.  Propterea  exaudivit  De-  19. 
us,  et  attendit  voci  deprecationis 
meae. 


20.  Benedictus  Deus,  qui  non  20. 
amovit  orationem  meam,  et 
misericordiam  suam  a  me. 


Therefore  God  heareth, 

And  giveth  heed  to  my  words  of  pe¬ 
ti  tion. 

Blessed  be  God  who  hath  not  rejected  my 
prayer, 

Nor  refused  His  kindness  to  me. 


1.  Canticum  Psalmi — Hebrew  ;  *  a  song,  a  psalm/  Read  in 

Vulgate  psalmus. 

Resurrectionis.  It  is  wanting  in  Hebrew.  It  might  mean  ‘  Psalm 
of  Uprising  ’ — with  reference,  perhaps,  to  the  preparations  of  the 
Exiles  to  lea  ve  Babylon  for  Palestine,  or  ‘  Psalm  of  making  to  arise/ 
i. e.  Psalm  of  summoning.  But  we  have  no  means  of  determining 
the  origin  of  chao-rao-ews  in  the  Greek  title  of  this  psalm.  It  was 
absent  from  the  Hexaplar  text  of  the  Septuagint. 

2.  Date  gloriam  laudi.  Laus  is  the  song  of  praise  ;  this  is  to  be 
made  splendid,  worthy  of  God.  Hebrew  :  ‘  Make  glorious  the  song 
of  His  praise  !  ' 

3.  Mentientur,  *  flatter/  ‘  pay  court  to.’  Cf.  Ps.  xvii.  45.  Filii 
alieni  mentiti  sunt. 

In  multitudine,  because  of  the  greatness.  The  construction  is 
the  familiar  Hebrew  construction  with  abstract  noun  in  construet 
state,  instead  of  the  noun  and  adjective.  The  sense  is  :  ‘  because  of 
Thy  great  power/ 

5.  In  consiliis  ;  Hebrew  :  ‘  Dreadful  in  His  dealings  *  ;  the 

*  pians  ’  are  the  inner  side  of  the  *  dealings/ 

Super,  ‘  in  regard  to/  *  towards/ 

6.  Reference  to  the  Exodus.  The  people  of  the  present  feel 
themselves  one  with  the  Israelites  who  felt  the  thrills  of  marching 
dry-footed  through  the  Red  Sea  and  across  the  Jordan  bed  (cf.  Exod. 
xv.  11). 

Ibi,  when  such  things  happened  (local  and  temporal). 

In  ipso  is  most  simply  understood  as  referring  to  God. 

7.  God  is  omnipotent,  and  cares  for  the  people. 

Qui  exasperant,  etc.  The  Vulgate,  as  it  stands,  means  that  the 
enemies  of  God  will  not  be  exalted  because  of  themselves,  i.e.  because 
of  their  own  guilt.  The  sense  of  the  Hebrew  (‘  Let  not  the  rebels 
vaunt  themselves  ’)  is  that  they  will  be  unable  to  exalt  themselves. 

8.  Another  invitation,  probably  sung  by  another  choir,  to  praise 
God  and  thank  Him  because  He  has  rescued  the  people  from  sorrow. 
The  verses  8-12  are  sung  in  the  name  of  the  people,  and  not  in  the 
name  of  an  individual. 

9.  The  nations  are  invited  to  thank  the  Lord  for  His  rescue  of 
Israel.  The  psalmist  thus  claims  that  Israel  holds  a  Central  place 
in  the  world’s  history.  This  implies,  indirectly  at  least,  the  Messianic 


246 


THE  PSALMS 


outlook.  The  nations  would  receive  the  Messianic  blessings  through 
Israel,  and  would  therefore  praise  the  Lord  for  His  mercies  to  Israel. 
Cf.  Jer.  xxxi.  10. 

Commotio = stumbling . 

10-12.  The  nation  has  been  tested  and  purified  in  the  crucible  of 
sorrow. 

11.  The  laqueus  may  mean  ‘  prison  '  ;  but  actual  imprisonment 
may  not  be  meant  (cf.  Isaias  xliv.  22).  To  posuisti  tribulationes  in 
dorso  nostro  corresponds  the  Hebrew  :  ‘  Thou  hast  put  tribulation 
on  our  loins/  This  might  mean  (as  the  Targum  has  it)  ‘  Thou  hast 
put  chains  on  our  loins  '  ;  but  as  the  loins  were  regarded  as  the 
seat  of  pain,  it  may  be  correct  to  take  *  tribulation  ’  in  the  literal 
sense. 

12.  They  had  been  completely  defeated  in  war.  Putting  the  foot 
on  the  head  of  the  conquered  was  a  symbol  of  complete  conquest. 
cf.  Isaias  li.  23  :  Yahweh  gives  the  *  cup  of  reeling  ’  (Ps.  lix.  5)  to 
those  who  said  to  Israel  :  ‘  Bow  down  that  we  may  pass  o'er  ! 
And  thou  madest  thy  back  like  the  earth,  a  street  for  wayfarers/  (See 
Jos.  x.  24  ;  Judges  viii.  7  ;  Amos  i.  3  ;  Ps.  cxxviii.  3.) 

The  fire  and  water  symbolise  the  great  perils  through  which  Israel 
has  passed.  Refrigerium  literally,  cooling,  i. e.  sense  of  relief.  The 
Hebrew  reads  ‘  unto  abundance  ’  ( fwayah )  ;  the  Greek  translators 
read  r6 wahah  (respite,  relief). 

13.  The  individual  and  his  friends  give  thanks  for  God's  saving 
help.  These  verses  are  sung  by  a  single  singer. 

14.  Distinxerunt :  Jerome  translates  :  qucz  promiserunt.  The 
Hebrew  verb  suggests  that  the  promise  was  made  with  great  agitation 
in  the  very  moment  of  perii.  Distinxerunt  is  intended  to  express 
'  set  forth  clearly/ 

15.  The  incensum  is  the  fragrant  smoke  of  the  sacrifice,  the  smell, 
that  is,  of  the  burning  flesh,  and  not  the  scent  of  incense.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  offeram  is  used  to  translate  the  Hebrew  and 
Greek  verb  '  make/  Obviously  the  verb  has  both  in  Greek  and 
Hebrew  the  meaning  ‘  sacrifice/  Cf.  I  Cor.  xi.  25. 

17.  The  Hebrew  of  this  verse  suggests  that  in  the  very  mcment 
when  the  singer  called  for  help  he  was  ready  to  sing  his  song  of  thanks- 
giving.  The  sub  lingua  goes  back  to  the  Hebrew.  It  is  usually 
explained  as  meaning  that  the  praise  was  kept  ready  for  utterance. 
But  the  expression  is  strange.  The  Syriae  has  :  ‘  I  exalted  Him  with 
my  tongue  ’ — which  represents,  probably,  the  original  reading. 

18.  A  general  statement  (cf.  John  ix.  31). 

19.  Propterea  may  mean,  perhaps,  ‘  and  yet  ’  ;  the  implication 
being  that  the  psalmist  has  no  real  consciousness  of  guilt.  The 
Hebrew  has  ’ akhen ,  *  yet/ 

20.  The  Lord  is  thanked  for  two  things  :  He  has  enabled  the 
psalmist  to  pray  in  time  of  need,  and  He  has  heard  his  prayer. 


PSALM  LXVI 


A  HARVEST  SONG 


THIS  psalm  is  based  on  the  Priestly  Blessing  in  Numbers  vi.  24- 
26 — the  blessing  with  which  the  priests  were  wont  to  bless 
the  people  gathered  for  worship  in  the  Temple.  The  Aaronic 
Blessing  in  Numbers  vi.  runs  thus  : 

‘  May  Yahweh  bless  tb.ee  and  keep  thee  ! 

May  Yahweh  make  His  face  to  shine  upon  thee  ! 

May  Yahweh  lift  np  His  countenance  upon  thee,  and  give  thee  peace  !  ’ 

It  wishes  to  Israel,  and  to  each  individual  Israelite,  the  care  and  pro- 
tecting  presence  of  God,  and  the  sense  of  peace  which  comes  from 
friendship  with  God.  In  many  ways  Yahweh  could  reveal  His  love 
for  His  people,  and  His  protecting  presence  in  their  midst  ;  but  no 
reve  ation  of  His  love  and  presence  could  be  more  obvious  to  the 
popular  mind  than  that  contained  in  the  blessings  of  a  bounteous 
harvest.  The  psalm  is  a  song  of  thanksgiving  for  harvest  joys.  At  a 
harvest  festival— whether  Pasch,  Pentecost  or  TabernacleS' — the  words 
of  the  Aaronic  Blessing  are  thought  of  as  echoed  by  the  multitude, 
and  expanded  into  a  song  such  as  we  ha  ve  here.  The  Lord  has, 
indeed,  been  gracious,  and  therein  lies  a  token  that  He  will  be  gracious 
again.  The  blessing  which  Yahweh  has  granted  to  Israel  is  a  blessing 
for  the  heathens  also.  They  will  learn  thereby  what  a  mighty  and 
what  a  loving  God  Yahweh  is,  and  thus,  they,  too,  willbe  led  to  know 
and  praise  Him.  Thus,  in  the  psalm,  the  natural  blessings  of  harvest 
are  typical  of  the  greater  blessings  which  the  Gentiles  will  enjov  in 
common  with  Israel  in  the  Messianic  time. 

There  is  no  ciear  indication  of  date  in  the  Hebrew  text  of  the  psalm. 
The  superscription  in  the  Vulgate  (following  the  Greek)  ascribes  it, 
in  the  usual  way,  to  David.  It  is  ciear  that  the  psalm  is  liturgi cal  in 
character.  It  is  not  connected,  as  far  as  can  be  seen,  with  any 
definite  occasion,  and  it  was,  no  doubt,  used,  in  a  purely  formal  way, 
at  ali  kinds  of  harvest  festi vals.  Modern  criticism  regards  it  as  post- 
exilic — chiefly  because  of  its  universalism. 


1.  In  finem,  in  hymnis,  Psal¬ 
mus  Cantici  David. 


1.  For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  ;  a  song 
of  David. 


2.  Deus  misereatur  nostri,  et 
benedicat  nobis  :  illuminet  vul¬ 
tum  suum  super  nos,  et  miserea¬ 
tur  nostri. 


2.  May  God  be  gracious  to  us  and  bless  us  ! 
Mav  He  make  His  face  to  shine  upon  us. 
And  be  gracious  to  us. 


247 


248 


THE  PSALMS 


3.  Ut  cognoscamus  in  terra  3. 

viam  tuam  :  in  omnibus  Genti¬ 
bus  salutare  tuum. 

4.  Confiteantur  tibi  populi  4. 

Deus  :  confiteantur  tibi  populi 
omnes. 

5.  Laetentur  et  exsultent  5. 

Gentes :  quoniam  judicas  po¬ 
pulos  in  aequitate,  et  Gentes  in 
terra  dirigis. 

6.  Confiteantur  tibi  populi  6. 

Deus,  confiteantur  tibi  populi 
omnes  : 


That  we  may  know  on  earth  His  way, — 
Among  all  peoples  Thy  help. 


Let  the  peoples  praise  Thee,  O  God  ! 
Let  all  the  peoples  praise  Thee  ! 

Let  the  nations  be  glad  and  rejoice  ! 
For  Thou  judgest  the  peoples  fairly. 
And  guidest  the  peoples  on  earth. 

Let  the  peoples  praise  Thee,  O  God  ! 
Let  all  the  peoples  praise  Thee  ! 


7.  Terra  dedit  fructum  suum. 

8.  Benedicat  nos  Deus,  Deus 
noster,  benedicat  nos  Deus  :  et 
metuant  eum  omnes  fines  terrae. 


7.  The  earth  hath  given  its  fruit. 

8.  May  God  our  God  bless  us  ! 

May  God  bless  us  ; 

And  let  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  fear 
Him  ! 


1.  The  Hebrew  superscription  has  no  reference  to  David.  It 
runs  :  ‘  For  the  choir-leader  of  the  vfginoth  group  of  singers,  a  psalm- 
song/  That  neginoth  is  the  name  of  a  group  of  singers,  and  does  not 
mean  ‘  on  stringed  instruments/  is,  of  course,  only  a  conjecture.  It 
is  represented  by  the  Vulgate  hymnis.  Psalmus  cantici  represents 
the  Hebrew  mizmor  shir,  which,  if  it  means  anything,  must  mean  a 
song  (shir)  which  is  a  psalm  (mizmor),  i. e.  a  *  psalm-song/  Psalmus 
cantici  reproduces  the  mere  words  of  the  Hebrew.  The  Septuagint 
has  \fxbs  T(f  AavelS,  apparently  reading  shir  as  if  it  were  leDawid, 
‘  by  David/  It  is  thus,  probably,  that  the  ascription  to  David  has 
crept  into  the  title  of  the  Vulgate,  even  though  the  latter  reproduces 
the  full  Massoretic  phrase,  mizmor  shir.  The  Vulgate  has  Psalmus 
cantici  in  the  tities  of  Ps.  xxix,  xlvii,  lxvi,  lxvii,  lxxiv,  lxxxvi,  xci. 
Canticum  psalmi  occurs  in  the  tities  of  Ps.  lxv,  lxxxii,  lxxxvii,  cvii. 

Even  conservative  Catholic  scholars  like  Schegg  admit  that  this 
psalm  need  not  be  regarded  as  Davidic. 

2.  Cf.  for  the  same  thought,  Ps.  xxxiii.  6  ;  i v.  7  ;  xxvi.  1  ;  xxx.  17  ; 
xxxv.  10. 

3.  *  Thy  way  '  may  be  ‘  such  conduct  as  Thou  dost  prescribe/ 
or  (better),  ‘  Thy  way  of  dealing  with  men/  The  psalmist  prays  that 
God’s  methods,  and  particularly  God’s  deeds  of  rescue  for  Israel, 
may  become  universallv  known.  Ecclesiasticus  xxxvi.  18  is  a  close 
parallel.  ‘  Hear,  O  Lord,  the  petition  of  Thy  servants,  according  to 
the  blessing  of  Aaron  over  Thy  people,  and  let  all  who  dwell  on  the 
earth  know  that  Thou  art  the  Lord,  the  God  of  the  ages/  Instead  of 
cognoscamus  the  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  that  Thy  way  may  be  known  on 
earth/  so  that  there  is  perfect  parallelism  with  the  second  phrase, 
‘  and  among  all  the  nations  Thy  rescuing  help/  This  is  very  strong 
universalism. 


A  HARVEST  SONG 


249 


5.  The  *  judging  *  is  GocTs  rule  of  the  world.  It  is  so  just,  and 
fair,  that  the  heathens  also  should  rejoice  in  it.  There  is  no  direct 
reference  to  the  Last  Judgment. 

7,  8.  The  occasion  of  the  hymn  is  here  clearly  indicated.  The 
psalmist  prays  that  the  blessing  of  God,  given  in  the  abundant  harvest, 
may  be  continued  and  increased.  Commentators  usually  point  out 
that  rich  harvests  and  fertility  of  soil  belong  to  the  Messianic  outlook 
in  the  prophets.  It  is  possible  that  in  this  harvest  song,  in  which  all 
nations  are  invited  to  thank  God  for  His  blessings,  there  may  be  some 
suggestion  of  the  Messianic  hope.  The  blessing  of  God,  and  the 
universal  homage  of  the  nations  are  put  together  in  verse  8  in  such  a 
way  as  to  remind  one  inevitably  of  the  blessing  in  which,  according 
to  the  ancient  promise,  all  the  peoples  of  the  world  were  to  share — 
the  blessing  of  the  Messianic  kingdom.* 1 


1  With  the  Messianic  implications  of  terra  dedit  fructum  suum  cf.  Isaias  iv.  2  : 
'  On  that  day  the  ‘  Shoot  ’  of  Yahweh  ( germen  Domini)  shall  be  beautiful  and 
gloriolis,  and  the  fruit  of  the  land  ( fructus  terree)  majestic  and  splendid  for  the 
rescued  of  Israel  ’  ( cf .  Is.  lxi.  11).  See  also  Jer.  xxiii.  5  : 

‘  Behold,  days  are  coming,  declareth  Yahweh, 

When  I  shall  raise  up  for  David  a  righteous  Shoot — 

A  king  who  will  rule  with  wisdom, 

Who  shall  exercise  justice  and  right  in  the  land.’ 

Jer.  xxxiii.  15  : 

‘  In  those  days,  in  that  time, 

I  will  make  to  shoot  forth  for  David  a  Shoot  of  justice. 

And  he  shall  exercise  justice  and  right  in  the  land.' 

Here  in  Jeremias  the  term  ‘  shoot,'  or  ‘  growth  ’  ( semah ),  which  in  Isaias  iv.  2 
has  a  more  general  sense,  is  a  designation  of  the  Messias.  In  Zach.  iii.  8  ;  vi.  12, 
the  word  appears  quite  clearly  as  a  title  of  the  Messias.  In  the  Vulgate  text  of 
Zach.  iii.  8  ;  vi.  12  Semah  is  rendered  oriens,  which  reminds  us  of  the  Oriens  ex 
alto  of  the  Benedictus  (Luke  i.  78). 


PSALM  LXVII 


A  COMMEMORAT  ION  OF  VICTORY 

THIS  difficult  psalm  begins  with  a  description  of  God's  power 
over  His  foes  (verses  2-4) — the  main  theme  of  the  poem. 
The  poet  goes  on  in  verses  5-7  to  exhort  his  hearers  to  sing 
praise  to  the  Lord  as  the  great  God  of  heaven,  and  as  the 
kind  Friend  and  Protector  of  His  people,  Israel.  With  verse  8  begins 
the  first  chief  section  of  the  poem  proper  (verses  2-7  being  a  sort  of 
introduction).  This  first  section  extends  to  verse  19.  It  deals  with 
the  glories  of  IsraeFs  past,  with  the  Exodus  and  the  wonderful  pro- 
tection  given  by  the  Lord  to  His  people  during  their  desert-wanderings, 
and  with  the  settlement  in  Palestine  (8-1 1).  It  goes  on  (in  verses#i2- 
15)  to  teli  of  the  glory  of  ancient  battles  fought  for  possession  of  the 
Promised  Land,  giving  snatches  of  old  heroic  poems  like  the  song  of 
Deborah  and  others  which  we  cannot  identify  ;  and  in  verses  16-19 
it  celebrates  the  enthronement  of  the  Lord  on  Sion.  With  Sion,  the 
dwelling-place  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  no  other  mountain  sanctuary 
can  vie. 

With  verse  20  begins  the  second  main  section  of  the  poem.  Stili, 
as  in  ancient  days,  the  Lord  protects  His  people.  From  Him  all 
help  and  vengeance  against  IsraePs  foes  must  come  (20-24).  The 
psalmist  then  gives  a  picture  of  a  solemn  thanksgiving  procession — a 
procession  which  commemorates  some  victory  of  which  we  have  no 
further  record.  Choirs  of  singers  followed  by  zither-players,  and  sur- 
rounded  by  maidens  who  beat  tembourines,  are  made  to  pass  before 
us.  Of  the  tribes  represented  in  the  procession,  Benjamin  and  Juda, 
Zabulon  and  Naphthali  are  specially  mentioned — possibly  because 
they  had  had  a  special  share  in  bringing  about  the  victory,  (or  other 
event)  which  is  being  commemorated.  In  verses  29-32  the  Lord  is 
besought  to  establish  in  truth  His  w*orld-power,  His  universal  empire, 
and  to  destroy  the  proud  nations  that  long  for  war.  Let  Him  make 
Jerusalem  the  shrine  to  which  all  the  nations  will  come  hurrying  with 
their  gifts  !  In  the  final  strophe  (33-36)  the  poet  sees  in  spirit  the 
great  ones  of  earth  coming  to  do  homage  in  Jerusalem  :  he  calls  on 
them  to  join  in  singing  praise  to  the  Lord,  the  Saviour  of  Israel. 

The  Central  thought  of  the  psalm  is  that  of  the  protecting  presence 
of  Yahweh.  The  poem  contains  several  reminiscences  of  early 
Hebre w  poetry,  but  some  of  these  are,  unfortunately,  verv  obscure. 
The  general  tone  of  the  psalm  is  one  of  victory.  Some  great  event 


250 


/ 


A  COMMEMORATION  OF  VICTORY  251 

must  recently  ha  ve  happened  to  make  Israel  confident  that  ali  the 
promises  of  the  Lord  would  be  fulfilled.  But  what  that  event  was 
\ve  do  not  know.  Traditional  exegesis,  for  the  most  part,  looks  on 
the  psalm  as  a  hymn  composed  for  the  ceremony  of  transferring  the 
Ark  to  Sion.  Modern  critical  opinions  on  the  origin  and  date  of  the 
psalm  differ  very  widely. 

1.  In  finem  Psalmus  Cantici, 
ipsi  David. 


2.  Exsurgat  Deus,  et  dissi¬ 
pentur  inimici  ejus,  et  fugiant 
qui  oderunt  eum,  a  facie  ejus. 

3.  Sicut  deficit  fumus,  defi¬ 
ciant  :  sicut  fluit  cera  a  facie 
ignis,  sic  pereant  peccatores  a 
facie  Dei. 

4.  Et  justi  epulentur,  et  ex¬ 
sultent  in  conspectu  Dei  :  et 
delectentur  in  lsetitia. 


1.  For  the  choir.  A  psalm  of  David.  (A 

song.) 

(Introduction,  2-7) 

2.  Let  God  arise,  and  let  His  foes  be  scat- 

tered  ; 

And  let  those  that  hate  Him  flee  from 
before  Him. 

3.  As  smoke  vanisheth,  let  them  vanish  ; 

As  wax  melteth  before  fire, 

So  let  sinners  perish  before  the  face  of 
God. 

4.  But  let  the  just  rejoice  and  be  glad  before 

God, 

And  exuit  with  exceeding  joy  ! 


5.  Cantate  Deo,  psalmum  di¬ 
cite  nomini  ejus  :  iter  facite  ei, 
qui  ascendit  super  occasum  : 
Dominus  nomen  illi. 

Exsultate  in  conspectu  ejus  : 
turbabuntur  a  facie  ejus. 


6.  Patris  orphanorum,  et  ju¬ 
dicis  viduarum. 

Deus  in  loco  sancto  suo  : 

7.  Deus  qui  inhabitare  facit 
unius  moris  in  domo  : 

Qui  educit  vinctos  in  fortitu¬ 
dine,  similiter  eos  qui  exaspe¬ 
rant,  qui  habitant  in  sepulchris. 


8.  Deus,  cum  egredereris  in 
conspectu  populi  tui,  cum  per- 
transires  in  deserto  : 

9.  Terra  mota  est,  etenim 
coeli  distillaverunt  a  facie  Dei 
Sinai,  a  facie  Dei  Israel. 

10.  Pluviam  voluntariam  se¬ 
gregabis  Deus  haereditati  tuae  : 
■et  infirmata  est,  tu  vero  per¬ 
fecisti  eam. 


5.  Sing  unto  God  ;  chant  a  hymn  of  praise 

to  His  name. 

Prepare  the  way  for  Him  who  ad- 
vanceth  towards  the  west ! 

The  Lord  is  His  name  ; 

Rejoice  before  Him  ! 

There  is  tumuit  (of  gladness)  when  He 
appears, 

6.  The  Father  of  orphans,  the  Advocate  of 

widows  ; 

God  in  His  Holy  Place  ! 

7.  God  !  who  maketh  the  steadfast  dwell  in 

(His)  House, 

Who  leadeth  forth  prisoners  cast  into 
bondage  by  might  (not  right), 

And  those  also  who  embitter  Him, 
who  dwell  in  tombs. 

First  main  section,  8-19.  The  glories  of 
Israel’s  ancient  history. 

(8-1 1  The  Exodus  and  the  entrance  into 
Palestine.) 

8.  God,  when  Thou  didst  march  forth  in  the 

sight  of  Thy  people  ; 

When  Thou  didst  traverse  the  wilder- 
ness, 

9.  The  earth  shook  ,and  the  heavens  poured 

themselves  forth, 

Before  the  God  of  Sinai, 

Before  the  God  of  Israel. 

10.  Gracious  rain  Thou  didst  grant  to  Thy 
possession. 

And  when  it  languished  Thou  didst 
restore  it. 


252 


THE  PSALMS 


11.  Animalia  tua  habitabunt 
in  ea  :  parasti  in  dulcedine  tua 
pauperi  Deus. 


11.  Thy  ‘  hosts  ’  do  dwell  therein  ; 

Thou  makest  provision  for  the  poor  in 
Thy  goodness,  O  God  ! 


(12-15  The  battles  for  Palestine  in  the 
days  of  the  Conquest.) 


12.  Dominus  dabit  verbum  12. 
evangelizantibus,  virtute  multa. 


13.  Rex  virtutum  dilecti  di-  13. 
lecti  :  et  speciei  domus  dividere 
spolia. 

14.  Si  dormiatis  inter  medios 
cleros,  pennae  columbae  deargen¬ 
tatae,  et  posteriora  dorsi  ejus  in 
pallore  auri. 

15.  Dum  discernit  coelestis 
reges  super  eam,  nive  dealba¬ 
buntur  in  Selmon  : 


The  Lord  doth  give  the  message  (of 
Triumph) 

To  them  that  proclaim  glad  tidings,  a 
goodly  throng. 

*  The  King  of  the  battle-hosts  of  the  much 
beloved 

(Giveth)  to  the  fair  one  of  the  house  to 
distribute  the  booty.’ 

When  ye  rest  amid  your  allotted  spoil, 

(It  is  like)  the  silver  wings  of  a  dove 

Whose  back  is  adorned  with  green- 
shimmering  gold. 

When  the  Heavenly  One  scattereth  the 
kings  of  the  land, 

White  like  the  snow  are  they  in  Selmon. 


(16-19  The  glory  of  Sion  as  God’s 
dwelling-place,  and  the  goal  of  His  tri- 
umphal  processions.) 


16.  Mons  Dei,  mons  pinguis.  16. 

Mons  coagulatus,  mons  pin¬ 
guis  : 

17.  Ut  quid  suspicamini  mon-  17. 
tes  coagulatos  ? 

Mons,  in  quo  beneplacitum, 
est  Deo  habitare  in  eo  :  etenim 
Dominus  habitabit  in  finem. 

18.  Currus  Dei  decem  millibus  18. 
multiplex,  millia  laetantium  : 
Dominus  in  eis  in  Sina  in  sancto. 


19.  Ascendisti  in  altum,  ce-  19. 

pisti  captivitatem  :  accepisti 
dona  in  hominibus  : 

Etenim  non  credentes,  in¬ 
habitare  Dominum  Deum. 


The  Mountain  of  God  ! 

A  fertile  mountain  ! 

A  fruitful  mountain  ! 

A  fertile  mountain  ! 

Why  look  ye  askance  on  the  fruitful  hilis  ? 

This  is  the  mountain  on  which  it  is 
God’s  pleasure  to  dwell. 

Yea  !  God  dwelleth  there  for  ever  ! 

The  chariots  of  God  are  ten  thousand  in 
number. 

Thousands  of  men  rejoicing  (are  here)  ! 

The  Lord  is  among  them  on  Sinai,  in 
the  Sanctuary. 

Thou  ascendest  on  high  ;  captives  Thou 
bringest  with  Thee. 

Thou  receivest  men  as  gifts — 

Even  those  who  believed  not  that  the 
Lord  dwelleth  here  ! 


Second  main  section  20-36. 

(20-24  God  stili  fights  Israel’s  battles 
as  in  the  ancient  days.) 


20.  Benedictus  Dominus  die  20. 
quotidie  :  prosperum  iter  faciet 
nobis  Deus  salutarium  nostro¬ 
rum. 

21.  Deus  noster,  Deus  salvos 
faciendi  :  et  Domini  Domini 
exitus  mortis. 


Praised  be  the  Lord  day  by  day  ! 

May  our  rescuing  God  prepare  for  us  a 
prosperous  way  ! 


21.  Our  God  is  a  God  of  help, 

And  to  the  Lord — yea — to  the  Lord 
bclong  the  means  of  escape  from 
death. 


A  COMMEMORATION  OF  VICTORY 


22.  Verumtamen  Deus  con¬ 
fringet  capita  inimicorum  suo¬ 
rum  :  verticem  capilli  peram¬ 
bulantium  in  delictis  suis. 

23.  Dixit  Dominus  :  Ex  Ba- 
san  convertam,  convertam  in 
profundum  maris  : 

24.  Ut  intingatur  pes  tuus  in 
sanguine  :  lingua  canum  tuorum 
ex  inimicis,  ab  ipso. 


25.  Viderunt  ingressus  tuos 
Deus,  ingressus  Dei  mei  :  regis 
mei  qui  est  in  sancto. 

26.  Praevenerunt  principes 
conjuncti  psallentibus,  in  medio 
juvencularum  tympanistriarum. 

27.  In  ecclesiis  benedicite 
Deo  Domino,  de  fontibus  Israel. 

28.  Ibi  Benjamin  adolescen- 
tulus,  in  mentis  excessu. 

Principes  Juda,  duces  eorum  : 
principes  Zabulon,  principes 
Nephtali. 


29.  Manda  Deus  virtuti  tuae  : 
confirma  hoc  Deus,  quod  opera¬ 
tus  es  in  nobis. 

30.  A  templo  tuo  in  Jerusa- 
lem,  tibi  offerent  reges  munera. 

31.  Increpa  feras  arundinis, 
congregatio  taurorum  in  vaccis 
populorum  :  ut  excludant  eos, 
qui  probati  sunt  argento. 

Dissipa  Gentes,  quae  bella 
volunt  : 

32.  Venient  legati  ex  /Egypto: 
ZEthiopia  praeveniet  manus  ejus 
Deo. 


33.  Regna  terrae,  cantate  Deo: 
psallite  Domino. 

Psallite  Deo, 

34.  Qui  ascendit  super  caelum 
caeli,  ad  Orientem. 

Ecce  dabit  voci  suae  vocem 
virtutis. 

35.  Date  gloriam  Deo  super 
Israel,  magnificentia  ejus,  et 
virtus  ejus  in  nubibus. 


253 

22.  Verily  God  shattereth  the  heads  of  His 

foes, 

The  rough  scalp  of  those  who  walk  in 
their  sins. 

23.  The  Lord  said  :  From  Basan  will  I  bring 

(them)  back 

Even  ‘  from  ’  the  depths  of  the  Sea  will 
I  bring  (them)  back. 

24.  So  that  thy  foot  may  be  bathed  in  blood. 

And  the  tongue  of  thy  dogs  in  that  [the 
blood]  of  the  foes. 

(25—28  A  procession  of  victory  to  Sion.) 

25.  One  sees  Thy  procession,  O  God  ! 

The  procession  of  my  God,  my  King, 
in  the  Sanctuary  ! 

26.  First  come  the  leaders  with  the  zither- 

players 

In  the  midst  of  the  maidens  who  beat 
the  tabrets. 

27.  ‘In  the  gathering,  give  ye  praise  to  God  ; 

And  praise  the  Lord,  O  ye  of  the  well- 
spring  of  Israel/ 

28.  There  is  Benjamin,  the  youngest  ! 

Swept  along  by  enthusiasm  ! 

The  princes  of  Juda  are  their  leaders, 
The  princes  of  Zabulon, 

The  princes  of  Naphthali. 

(29-32  God  is  asked  to  make  Sion  the 
centre  of  His  world-rule.) 

29.  Send  forth  Thy  power,  O  God  ; 

Make  lasting  what  Thou  hast  wrought 
in  us 

30.  From  out  Thy  holy  Temple  in  Jerusa- 

lem  ! 

To  Thee  shall  kings  bring  gifts. 

31.  Rebuke  the  wild  beasts  of  the  reeds. 

There  is  a  gathering  of  bulls  with  the 
cows  of  the  peoples 
To  reject  those  who  would  guard  them- 
selves  by  silver. 

Scatter  the  nations  whose  joy  is  in  war. 

32.  Ambassadors  will  yet  come  from  Egypt  ! 

Ethiopia  will  stretch  out  eager  hands 
to  God  ! 

(33-36  The  psalmist  sees  prophetically 
the  thronging  of  the  nations  towards  Sion.) 

33.  Ye  kingdoms  of  earth,  sing  unto  God  ! 

Hymn  unto  the  Lord  ;  hymn  unto  God, 

34.  Who  advanceth  eastwards  over  the 

highest  heavens  ! 

Behold  !  He  maketh  His  voice  mightily 
to  resound. 

35.  Give  honour  to  the  God  of  Israel  ! 

His  splendour  and  His  power  are  en- 
throned  in  the  clouds. 


254 


THE  PSALMS 


36.  Mirabilis  Deus  in  sanctis  36. 
suis,  Deus  Israel  ipse  dabit  vir¬ 
tutem,  et  fortitudinem  plebi 
suae,  benedictus  Deus. 


Wondrous  is  the  Lord  in  His  sanctuary, 
The  God  of  Israel  who  giveth  strength 
and  mjght  to  His  people  ! 

Blessed  be  God  ! 


2.  When  the'  Lord  arises,  the  enemies  fly.  When  the  Ark  was 
taken  up  to  be  carried  on  a  march  Moses  used  to  say  :  “  Arise,  O 
Lord,  and  let  Thy  enemies  be  scattered,  and  let  them  who  hate  Thee 
fly  from  before  Thy  face  ”  (Numbers  x.  35).  Hence  many  commen- 
tators  connect  this  psalm  with  the  transference  of  the  Ark  to  Sion. 

3.  The  "  sinners  ’’  are  the  *  enemies  ’  of  verse  2.  They  are  the 
heathen  foes  of  Israel. 

4.  The  “  just  ”  are  the  Israelites. 

5.  Iter  facite,  *  make  a  causeway/  The  Israelites  are  to  build  a 
causeway,  as  it  were,  of  prayer  and  praise  for  the  onward  march  of 
their  God.  The  march  is  super  occasum — to  the  west.  The  Hebrew 
reads  :  “  Make  a  path  for  Him  who  fares  through  the  deserts.,,  The 
reference  is  primarily  to  the  desert  marches  prior  to  the  settlement 
in  Palestine.  The  final  stages  of  those  marches  which  were,  of  course, 
led  by  God,  were  towards  the  west. 

The  Hebrew  is  different  : 

Make  a  highway  for  Him  that  rides  thro’  the  deserts  ! 

Yah  is  His  name,  exuit  ye  before  Him. 

The  Hebrew  rokhebh  ba‘arabkoth,  He  that  rides  through  ‘  the 
deserts  ’  is  the  God  who  led  Israel  through  severat  deserts  on  the  way 
from  Egypt  to  Palestine  (the  plural  deserts  does  not  necessarily  imply, 
as  some  critics  think,  that  there  is  here  a  reference  to  the  bringing 
back  of  the  Exiles  from  Babylon).  The  Hebrew  word  <nrabhah 
(desert,  steppe)  has  the  same  consonants  in  its  root  (‘  r  b)  as  the 
Hebrew  word  for  ‘  west  ’  (ma‘arabhah) .  Hence  the  rendering  occasus . 

Dominus  nomen  ille  represents  the  Hebrew,  ‘  Yah,  is  His  name / 
Yah  is  a  popular  and  poetic  form  of  the  name  Yahweh.  It  is  rarely 
used  except  as  a  constituent  of  proper  names  (such  as  ’ Ahiyah ,  etc.). 
For  the  psalmist  the  name  Yahweh  or  Yah  suggests  the  protecting 
presence  of  his  God.  Yah  suggests  also  the  situation  described  in 
Exod.  xv.  2,  where  the  short  form  of  the  divine  name  first  occurs. 

Turbabuntur,  etc.,  may  refer  to  the  holy  joy  and  pleasant  excite- 
ment  caused  by  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  This  phrase  has  nothing 
corresponding  to  it  in  the  Hebrew.  It  is  an  inexact  doublet  of  the 
preceding,  exultate,  etc. 

6.  Patris  in  opposition  to  ejus  of  verse  5.  God  is  not  merely  a 
God  of  right,  but  also  a  God  of  mercy  and  pity.  The  ‘  holy  place  ' 
(Hebrew  :  ‘  holy  dwelling  ’)  may  be  heaven,  or  the  Sanctuary  on  Sion. 


A  COMMEMORATION  Of  VICTORY 


255 


7.  Qui  inhabitare  facit,  etc.  The  unius  moris  may  be  those  who 
are  firm,  steadfast,  constant  (of  one  disposition)  in  the  Service  of  God. 
Such  as  these  God  firmly  and  securely  establishes  in  His  House,  i.e. 
under  the  protection  of  His  House,  in  Jerusalem. 

God  rescues  captives  who  have  been  cast  into  bonds  not  fairly, 
but  by  mere  right  of  force  (in  fortitudine).  Possibly  we  sbould  take 
in  fortitudine  as,  in  fortitudinem,  ‘  unto  prosperity.’  *  Who  leadeth 
forth  prisoners  unto  prosperity  ’ ;  Hebrew  kosharoth  means  comfort 
or  prosperity.  The  word  may  have  had  in  Aramaic  the  meaning 
‘  strength.’ 

The  Lord  (according  to  the  Vulgate)  sets  free  those  also  who 
have  embittered  or  provoked  Him,  those  who  dwell  in  tombs.  It 
has  been  held  that  this  dwelling  in  tombs  was  some  special  kind  of 
offence  against  God,  such  as  is  referred  to  in  Isaias  lxv.  4 — spending 
the  night  in  tombs  in  the  hope  of  receiving  oracles  from  the  dead. 
The  Vulgate  need  not,  however,  be  thus  explained.  In  the  Hebrew 
verse  7  might  be  rendered  :  “  Yahweh  bringeth  horne  again  the  lonely 
ones  ;  He  bringeth  captives  forth  unto  prosperity.  It  is  only  the 
rebellious  ones  who  dwell  in  the  parched  land.”  This  seems  to  be 
said  of  the  mercy  of  God  shown  to  Israel  when  God  led  the  people 
from  the  bondage  of  Egypt  to  the  prosperity  of  Palestine.  The 
rebels  (i.e.  either  the  faithless  Israelites,  or  the  heathen  enemies  of 
Israel)  were  left  in  a  land  that,  in  contrast  with  Palestine,  could  be 
called  parched  and  arid  (cf.  Ps.  lxii.  2). 

Unius  moris  renders  the  Hebrew  yehidim,  *  solitary  ones/  *  lonely 
ones/  The  Vulgate  (which  here  follows  the  Greek)  suggests  qualities 
of  temperament  and  character,  while  the  Hebrew  word  speaks  merely 
of  the  loneliness  of  those  referred  to.  Unius  moris  ought  to  mean„ 
of  simple  or  consistent,  and  therefore,  steadfast  character.  The 
Hebrew  refers  apparently  to  Israelites  whom  God  has  brought  horne 
from  prison  or  exile.  It  would  be  better  to  read  in  Hebrew  meshibh, 
‘  who  bringeth  back,  than  the  Massoretic  moshibh,  ‘  who  maketh  to 
dwell.’ 

Similiter  .  .  .  sepulchris  is  apparently  partly  a  paraphrase,  and 
partly  a  mistranslation  of  the  Hebrew.  The  Massoretic  text  says  : 
4  Only  the  rebels  dwell  in  an  arid  (land).’  The  Hebrew  ’ akh  ‘  only 
was  taken  as  =  <5$  (o/Wws)  :  whence  the  Vulgate  similiter ;  sofrim 
(rebels)  is  rendered  qui  exasperant.  There  is  no  linguis tic  connection 
between  sfhihah  (a  parched,  cheerless  waste)  and  in  sepulchris.1  The 
Vulgate  is  obviously  only  a  paraphrase  here.  Tombs  would  be 
‘  cheerless  ’  places  to  dwell  in  ;  and  the  Greek  translato rs  of  the 
psalms  may  have  been  accustomed  to  see  rock-tombs  near  Jerusalem 


1  It  is  possible  that  the  Septuagint  translators  had  before  them  a  Hebrew 
text  which  read  sfrihim  (underground  chambers)  instead  of  sfhihah.  This  is,, 
however,  very  unlikely. 


256 


THE  PSALMS 


used  as  dvvellings  by  the  lowest  and  poorest  classes  of  tlie  people. 
While  the  Massoretic  text,  then,  as  it  stands,  represents  the  enemies 
of  God  as  being  forced  to  dwell  in  arid  and  cheerless  places,  the  Vul¬ 
gate  says  that  even  those  who  dwell  in  the  cheerlessness  of  tombs, 
will,  in  spite  of  their  sins,  be  led  forth  to  freedom  and  comfort  by  the 
Lord. 

It  must  be  said,  however,  that  by  a  slight  change  of  the  Massoretic 
text,  reading  ‘aph,  instead  of  ’akh,  we  could  understand  the  Hebrew 
also  to  mean  that  ‘  even  rebels  who  had  dwelt  in  a  cheerless  place  ' 
were  led  b\^  God  to  comfort.  The  ‘  rebels  ’  in  this  view,  would  be 
in  apposition  to  the  ‘  prisoners  '  of  the  preceding  clause. 

8,  9.  These  verses  are  from  the  Song  of  Deborah  (Judges  v.  4)  : 
they  refer  to  the  coming  forth  of  the  Lord  from  Sinai  to  help  Israel 
in  her  battles  with  the  northern  kings.  The  Blessing  of  Moses 
in  Deut.  xxxiii.  also  makes  Yahweh  come  forth  from  Sinai.  The 
scene  of  the  great  Theophany  would  naturally  be  taken  as  a  chief 
dwelling-place  of  the  Lord.  It  was  at  Sinai  that  Israel  was  formally 
constituted  as  a  nation  ;  and  the  Lord  of  Sinai  thus  came  to  be  re- 
garded,k  in  the  heroic  poetry  of  Israel,  as  moving  forth  from  Sinai  to 
help  Israel  in  her  battles  for  freedom  and  life.  The  Lord  comes  forth 
with  earthquake,  thunder  and  rain-storm  ( cf .  Ps.  xvii.  11-17). 

Distillav erunt  refers  to  the  rain-storm. 

A  facie  Dei  Sinai  is  a  paraphrase  of  a  difficult  Hebrew  text.  The 
Hebrew  does  not  read  *  the  God  of  Sinai  ’  but  ‘  God,  this  Sinai/  which, 
apparently,  was  taken  by  the  Greek  translators  to  mean  ‘  God,  the 
One  of  Sinai/  What  follows  in  the  Hebrew  is  not  a  facie  Dei  Israel, 
but  a  facie  Dei,  Dei  Israel,  wThich,  obviously,  points  to  an  earlier 
reading,  ‘  before  Yahweh,  the  God  of  Israel/  ’Elohim  (God)  has 
often,  as  here,  been  substituted  in  the  Hebrew  text  for  Yahweh  (the 
personal  name  of  the  God  of  Israel). 

10.  Pluviam  voluntariam.  The  fearful  rain  of  the  thunder-storm 
leads  to  the  thought  of  rich  fertilising  rain  for  the  soil.  Voluntaria 
means  freely  given,  generous.  Some  commentators  explain  the 
*  rain  ’  as  the  manna  and  the  quails  given  wondrously  by  God  to  Israel 
when  the  people  were  suffering  from  want  of  food  [infirmata).  Others 
understand  the  generous  rains  given  to  the  soil  of  Palestine  to  make 
it  a  ht  dwelling  place  for  the  people  of  God  [cf.  Deut.  xi.  10/.).  In 
this  view  the  haer editas  would  be  Canaan  rather  than  the  Israelite 
people.  The  soil  was  poor  before  Israel  settled  there.  Afterwards 
it  became  fertile  so  that  Palestine  was  described  as  a  ‘  land  flowing 
with  milk  and  honev/  The  Greek  translators  read  haer  editas  with 
segregabis.  It  should  be  read,  as  an  accusative,  with  perfecisti. 

11.  The  animalia  seem  to  be  the  Israelite  host.  The  Hebrew 
word  corresponding  haiyah  means  *  tent  — then,  (derivatively)  tribe, 
family,  throng.  The  Greek  translators  read  haiyoth  (wild  beasts, 
living  things),  instead  of  haiyaih  (construet  of  haiyah). 


A  COMMEMORATION  OF  VICTORY 


257 

Parasti  .  .  .  pauperi.  With  parasti  we  must  supply  an  object 
such  as  cibum.  This  is  merely  a  general  rule  of  Gods  kindly  Provi- 
dence  [dulcedo).  The  Israelite  nation  before  it  settled  quietly  in 
Canaan  might  be  well  styled  pauper. 

12.  From  here  to  verse  15  we  have  snatches  from  old  battle-songs 
of  the  people. 

The  ‘  word  ’  seems  to  be  the  song  of  triumph  in  verses  13-15 
(quoted  partly  from  the  Song  of  Deborah). 

The  evangelizantes  seem  to  be  (according  to  the  Hebrew)  a  choir 
of  singers  who  chant  the  song  of  triumph.  The  singers  (probably 
maidens)  are  many  in  number  [virtute  multa).  The  Hebrew  says  : 
*  Of  messengers  of  victory  great  is  the  host.’  The  Vulgate  virtute 
multa  taken  by  itself  would  refer  more  naturally  to  the  vigour  of  the 
singers'  chant,  than  to  the  size  of  the  choir.  The  Hebrew  of  verse  12 
reads  :  *  The  Lord  spoke  the  tidings  [of  victory],  and  great  was  the 
host  of  those  that  proclaimed  it.' 

13.  Rex  virtutum,  etc.  The  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  kings  of  armies  flee  ; 
they  flee  ;  and  the  fair  one  of  the  house  divideth  the  spoil/  These 
words  are  the  message  which  the  heralds  of  victory  announce.  We 
have  here  again  an  echo  of  that  part  of  the  Song  of  Deborah  ( Judges  v. 
30),  which  describes  the  women  as  receiving  garments  of  many  colours 
as  their  share  of  the  war-booty.  The  ‘  kings  '  of  the  Massoretic  text 
are  either  the  kings  of  North  Palestine,  whose  defeat  is  described  in 
the  Song  of  Deborah,  or,  in  general,  the  various  combinations  of 
Palestinian  kings  defeated  by  Joshua. 

The  Greek  translators  read,  apparently,  instead  of  yiddodun 
yiddodun,  ‘  they  fly,  they  fly,’  yedidun,  yedidun,  dilectus,  dilectus. 
They  read  the  whole  clause  melekh  sibKoth  yedidun  yedidun,  and 
translated  it  as,  ‘  the  king  of  the  hosts  of  the  beloved,  the  beloved.’ 
The  translation  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as  accurate,  and  the  Septua- 
gint  reading  of  the  Hebrew  is  inferior  to  the  Massoretic  text.  In 
Ps.  xxviii.  6  we  find  ‘  dilectus  ’  used  to  render  the  honori fic  name  of 
Israel — Yeshurun,  and  (as  is  shown  in  the  note  on  that  verse)  the 
Septuagint  always  represents  Yeshurun  (which  is  really  derived  from 
Yashar  and  means  ‘the  Upright ’)  by  ?)ya7n7/xevos  [dilectus).  There 
is  no  obvious  way  of  passing  from  Yeshurun  to  rjyaTrrj^vos,  but  it 
is  verv  easy  to  pass  from  Yedidun  to  ?)ya7n>7/xei/os.  Is  it  possible 
that  the  uniform  Septuagint  rendering  of  Yeshurun  as  ‘  Beloved  ’  is 
due  to  a  misreading  by  the  Septuagint  translators  of  Yeshurun  as 
Yedidun  ?  In  this  psalm-passage  the  ‘  king  ’  was  understood  by  the 
translators  to  refer  to  Yahweh,  and  the  dilectus  to  Israel.  The 
repetition  dilectus  dilectus  was  probably  regarded  as  equivalent  to  a 
superlative — ‘  much-beloved/  so  that  Israel  appears  as  the  ‘  most 
dearly  beloved  *  of  God. 

To  give  a  meaning  to  speciei  domus  we  must  make  it  depend  on 
Dom;nus  dabit  of  verse  12  :  ‘The  Lord  giveth  the  “  word  "... 


17 


258 


THE  PSALMS 


the  King  of  the  Hosts  of  the  much  Beloved  giveth  to  the  fair  one 
of  the  house,  etc/  The  fair  one  is  the  wife  of  the  home-coming  soldier 
to  whom  is  granted  the  privilege  of  dividing  his  battle-spoil  among 
the  people  of  the  house.  Speciei  is  due  to  a  reading  of  the  Hebrew 
as  ncCwath  instead  of  rfwath,  *  the  fair  one '  instead  of  ‘  the 
dweller/ 

14.  The  first  part  of  this  verse  is  certainly  based  on  the  Song  of 
Deborah  (Jud.  v.  16),  but  it  is  not  an  exact  quotation.  The  Hebrew 
word  represented  by  cleros  is  here  shephattayim,  in  Jud.  v.  16  mish- 
pethayim.  The  exact  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  is  unknown.  Mish- 
pHhayim  occurs  in  only  one  other  place  (Gen.  xlix.  14).  The  two 
Hebrew  words  mishpethayim  and  shfphattayim  are  from  the  same 
root,  and  will  have,  practically,  the  same  meaning.  Hebraists  usually 
give  the  words  the  meaning  ‘  sheep-fold/  In  the  text  of  DeboralTs 
poem  the  Vulgate  reads  :  Quare  habitas  inter  duos  terminos ;  ut 
audias  sibilos  gregum  ?  It  is  a  censure  on  the  indolence  of  the  men 
of  Reuben,  who  preferred  to  sit  at  horne  amid  their  ‘  sheep-folds  ' 
listening  to  the  music  of  the  shepherds’  pipes,  rather  than  join  in  the 
battles  of  the  Central  Israelite  tribes  against  the  northern  kings.  The 
Vulgate  text  of  the  psalm-passage  seems  to  mean  by  cleri  the  portions 
of  the  booty  referred  to  in  the  preceding  verse.  Clerus  may  mean  a 
lot,  or  something  assigned  by  lot  (as  here).  When  the  wairiors  come 
horne  from  battle  and  rest  amid  their  booty,  that  booty  of  precious 
stuffs,  and  of  stones  and  metals  of  many  colours,  will  remind  them  of 
the  sheen  of  the  wings  and  body  of  a  dove  flying  in  the  sunshine. 
Some  commentators  take  the  cleros  as  referring  to  Canaan  itself,  the 
haereditas  of  Israel.  The  picture  of  the  dove,  whose  plumage  flashes 
like  silver  and  ‘  light-green  '  (in  pallore  auri)  gold  in  the  sunshine, 
these  commentators  take  as  symbolic  of  the  idyllic  life  of  the  peaceful 
Israelites  when  the  battles  for  Palestine  had  been  fought  and  won. 
In  this  view  the  verse  would  contain  no  taunt  or  censure.  It  is, 
however,  possible  that  the  reference  to  the  dove  whose  *  wings  are 
adorned  with  silver  and  her  plumage  with  green  shimmering  gold  1 
has  no  immediate  connection  with  what  precedes.  It  may  be  a  quo¬ 
tation  from  an  ancient  heroic  poem. 

It  is  difhcult  to  see  why  the  Septuagint  translates  sKphattayim 
by  kXtipol.  The  Greek  tianslator  of  the  Psalter  would  naturally 
follow  the  Greek  of  Gen.  xlix.  14.  Possibly  the  translator  confused 
the  word  with  mishpat,  which  in  certain  contexts  has  the  meaning, 
f  portion  assigned/  ‘  due  ’  ( cf .  Deut.  xviii.  3). 

Pennce  columbce  deargentatce  is  a  literal  rendering  of  the  Hebrew. 
Posteriora  dorsi  ejus  in  pallore  auri  ought  to  be  an  equivalent  phrase, 
or  parallel.  Posteriora  dorsi  ejus  takes  the  place  of  the  Hebrew 
'ebhrotheha,  ‘  her  pinions/  which  is  an  exact  parallel  to  pennce  columbce , 
The  Greek  translator  preferred,  apparently,  to  change  ‘  pinions  * 
into  ‘  back/  In  pallore  auri  represents  birakrak  harus,  ‘  in  green 


A  COMMEMORATION  OF  VICTORY 


259 

shimmering  gold.'  The  outspread  wings  of  the  dove,  as  she  flies  in 
the  sunshine,  look  at  times  as  if  they  were  of  silver,  at  times,  as  if 
they  were  of  green-shimmering  gold.  Is  the  dove,  then,  a  symbol 
of  the  booty  taken  frorn  defeated  foes  ?  Or  is  it  a  symbol  of  the 
peace  which  followed  the  Conquest  ?  Or,  is  it  a  symbol  of  Israel 
itself  as  the  special  friend  of  Yahweh  ?  ( cf .  Osee  vii.  11  ;  xi.  11.  The 
silver  and  gold  would,  in  this  view,  suggest  the  splendour  of  Israel 
as  enriched,  through  God’s  favour,  with  the  spoil  of  the  world's 
wealth).  But  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  fully  satisfactory  explanation 
of  the  verse. 

15.  Here  we  ha  ve  another  passage  from  an  an  cient  poem,  and  it 
is  also  very  obscure.  While  we  can  find  in  verse  14  an  echo  of  the 
familiar  words  of  Deborah's  Song,  we  have  no  knowledge  of  the  poem 
which  is  quoted  in  verse  15.  Discernere  must  mean  here  ‘  disperse,* 
‘  scatter  in  defeat.'  Reges  super  eam  might  be  taken  as  iis  kings,  i. e. 
the  heathen  kings  of  Canaan.  The  snow  on  Selmon  might  be  taken 
as  symbolising  the  bleaching  bones  of  the  heathen  kings  who  were 
destroyed  there,  or  the  shining  equipment  which  their  soldiers  in  their 
flight  had  cast  there.  Possibly  the  text  may  be  regarded  as  referring 
to  a  wondrous  snowfall  which  helped  the  Israelites  to  defeat  the 
Canaanite  kings  at  Selmon.  In  Judges  ix.  48  we  hear  of  a  hili  called 
Salmon,  near  Shechem  ;  but  we  know  nothing  of  any  ancient  struggle 
fought  there. 

The  Vulgate  text  here  renders  the  Massoretic  almost  literally. 
Coelestis  translates  the  ancient  name  or  epithet  of  God,  Shaddai . 
Dum  discernit  reproduces  the  c.onstruction  of  preposition  with 
verbal  noun,  which  is  used  in  the  Massoretic  and  Septuagint. 
Hence  it  should  be  translated  as  above.  (Dum  is  used  here  as= 
quum) 

The  subject  of  dealbabuntur  must  be  reges.  The  Septuagint 
XLovioOrjcrovTai ,  ought  to  mean  either  *  are  made  into  snow  '  or  ‘  are 
made  snowy  white.'  The  Hebrew  verb  corresponding  is  singular, 
and  means  *  it  snowed.’ 

If  the  text  of  the  verse  is  to  be  emended,  the  aim  of  the  emendation 
must  be  to  discover  a  Hebrew  text  prior  to  that  which  the  Septuagint 
translators  used,  since  the  Septuagint  and  Massoretic  texts  here 
suppose  practically  the  same  consonantal  Hebrew  text.  If  there 
are  corruptions  in  the  traditional  text,  they  are  probably  to  be  sought 
in  the  name  Salmon  and  in  the  verb  which  speaks  of  ‘  snowing.’  In 
verses  16  and  17  a  contrast  is  made  between  Sion  as  the  mountain 
on  which  God  dwells,  and  other  mountains  of  Palestine  which  might 
seek  to  claim  equality  with  Sion.  It  would  be  very  convenient  if 
a  reference  to  Sion  could  be  found  here  in  verse  15.  It  has  been  pro- 
posed,  therefore,  to  read  in  the  Hebrew,  Siyon  instead  of  Salmon „ 
and  to  read  fdalleg  (leaped,  skipped)  instead  of  tashleg  (snowed). 
These  changes  would  give  as  the  sense  of  verse  15  :  '  When  Shaddai 


260 


THE  PSALMS 


scattered  the  kings  thereon,  Sion  did  skip.’  If  we  then  connect 
immediately  with  verse  16  we  can  render  : 

When  Shaddai  scattered  the  kings  thereon,1 
Sion  did  skip — the  mountain  of  God. 

Such  emenda  tions  as  are  here  suggested  are  purely  conjectural. 
Most  modern  critics  agree  that  the  Massoretic  text  of  verse  15  needs 
some  kind  of  emendati  on,  and,  since  the  versions  do  not  help,  there 
is  no  means  of  improving  it  except  sane  conjecture. 

16,  17.  The  main  thought  of  verses  16-17  is  that  Sion,  as  the 
dwelling-place  of  God,  is  more  glorious  than  any  other  hili  or  mountain 
of  Palestine. 

The  mons  Dei  must  be  Sion  (as  is  implied  in  the  suggested  emenda- 
tion  of  verse  15).  It  is  pinguis,  i. e.  rich  in  ali  imaginable  blessings. 
It  is  coagulatus  (literally,  ‘  curdled  ') — which  means  either,  that  it 
is  fruitful  (curds,  thick  milk,  batter — ali  are  svmbols  of  fertility),  or 
that  it  is  firmly  fixed,  steady  and  secure  (not  fluid  and  unstable, 
but  firm  and  stable  with  rugged  strength). 

Ut  quid  suspicamini  may  be  regarded  as  addressed  to  the  non 
credentes  of  verse  19 — to  those  who  doubted  whether  God  really 
dwelt  in  Sion. 

Etenim  is,  as  often,  a  strong  assertive  particle. 

By  taking  the  Vulgate  of  16-17  in  some  such  forced  fashion  as 
this,  we  can  attach  a  meaning  to  the  Latin  text.  The  Massoretic 
text  is  much  clearer  and  more  poetical.  Apart  from  emendations 
it  runs  : 


A  mountain  of  God  is  the  mountain  of  Bashan  ! 

A  mountain  of  peaks  is  the  mountain  of  Bashan  ! 

Why  look  yc  askance,  ye  high-peaked  mountains, 

At  the  mountain  which  God  hath  desired  for  His  dwelling  ? 

This  would  mean  that  Sion  is  greater  than  the  great  hilis  (‘  hilis  of 
God  ’)  of  Bashan  east  of  the  Jordan,  that  it  is  greater  even  than 
Hermon  on  Bashan ’s  northem  border.  The  *  hilis  of  Bashan  '  may 
have  been  looked  on  as  homes  of  the  gods,  but  Sion,  the  chosen 
dwelling  of  the  God  of  Israel,  is  greater  and  more  venerable  than 
them  ali.  It  is,  then,  foolish  for  those  eastern  hilis  to  look  with 


1  ‘  Thereon  ’  could  be  very  easily  emended  into  ‘  with  might  ’ — bekhoah, 
instead  of  bah.  This  would  get  rid  of  the  unsuitable  suggestion  of  a  fierce 
conflict  having  been  fought  out  on  Sion.  The  emended  text  represents  Sion, 
the  Mountain  of  God,  skipping  or  leaping  in  gladness  at  the  victories  of  Israel. 
The  following  clauses  warn  the  other  hilis  of  Palestine  not  to  look  with  anger 
or  jealousy  on  the  mountain  of  God. 


A  COMMEMORATION  OF  VICTORY 


261 


jealousy  011  Sion.  The  sense  is  here  obvious,  and  the  imagery  is 
genuinely  poetical.1 

The  Greek  translators  seem  to  ha  ve  thought  that  *  mountain  of 
Bashan  ’  was  but  a  way  of  saying  ‘  fertile  mountain.’  They  ap- 
parently  referred  the  epithet  to  Sion,  and  the  fertility  of  Bashan  was 
proverbial  [cf.  Ps.  xxi.  13).  The  translation  ‘curdled’  ( coagulatus ) 
is  due  to  the  mistake  of  connecting  the  Hebrew  gabnunnim  (peaks, 
mountain  tops)  with  the  Aramaic  gebhina  (‘  curdled  ’ :  cf.  Job  x.  10, 
where  gfbhinah  means  ‘  cheese  ’).2 

Used  in  reference  to  Sion  it  is  difhcult  to  attach  a  suitable  meaning 
to  ‘  curdled.’  Did  the  Greek  translator  picture  to  himself  the  masses 
of  the  Judean  hilis  after  the  manner  of  heaped  up  curds  ?  In 
Ps.cxviii.  70,  in  the  phrase  coagulatum  est  sicut  lac  cor  eorum ,  coagulatus 
means  insensible,  dull,  incapable  of  being  touched  by  any  fine  emotion, 
secure  through  ignorance.  (The  Hebrew  of  cxviii.  70  has  helebh, 

‘  fat,’  not  halabh,  ‘  milk.’) 

The  montes  coagulatos  of  verse  17  must  be  the  same  in  the  Vulgate 
as  the  mons  pinguis  of  16.  The  accusative  is  governed  by  suspicamini. 
This  verb  translates  with  reasonable  accuracy  the  Hebrew  frassedun 
which  means  to  watch  stealthily,  to  look  askance  at.  The  whole 
Vulgate  text  is,  however,  thrown  out  of  focus  by  its  failure  to  under- 
stand  what  is  implied  in  the  psalmist’s  reference  to  the  hilis  of  Bashan. 
The  Latin  of  verse  17  would  be  much  better  if  it  ran  :  Ut  quid  suspica¬ 
mini  montes  coagulati  montem  in  quo  beneplacitum ,  etc. 

Etenim  is  intensi  ve — ‘  Yes,  indeed  !  ’ 

Jerome  renders  12-17  thus  : 

Domine  dabis  sermonem  adnuntiatricibus  fortitudinis  plurimce. 
Reges  exercituum  foederabuntur ,  foederabuntur ,  et  pulchritudo  domus 
dividet  spolia.  Si  dormieritis  inter  medios  terminos,  pennce  columbce 
deargentatce,  et  posteriora  ejus  in  virori  auri.  Cum  divideret  robustissi¬ 
mus  reges  in  ea,  nive  dealbata  est  in  Selmon.  Mons  Dei,  mons  pinguis, 
mons  excelsus,  mons  pinguis.  Quare  contenditis  montes  excelsi  adversus 
montem,  quem  dilexit  Deus  ut  habitaret  in  eo  ?  Siquidem  Dominus 
habitabit  in  sempiternum. 

We  can  see  here  characteristic  traces  of  Jerome’s  habit  of  adhering 
to  the  traditional  Septuagint  and  Latin  rendering,  even  when  he 
must  have  been  fully  alive  to  its  shortcomings.  He  introduces 


1  If  the  emendatiori  suggested  for  verse  15  were  adopted,  the  new  clause 
would  begin  thus  : 

O  mountain  of  Bashan,  mountain  of  peaks,  mountain  of  Bashan  ! 
Why  look  ye  askance,  ye  mountains  of  peaks  ?  etc.,  etc. 

a  From  the  name  of  the  valley  which  has  given  us  the  word  Gehenna,  viz., 
Ge  ben  Hinnom,  or  Ge  bene  Hinnom  has  arisen,  by  a  somewhat  similar  confusion 
the  title  ‘  Tyropoeon  Valley,'  (valley  of  the  cheese  makers) 


262 


THE  PSALMS 


terminos  from  the  Song  of  Deborah,  and  rightly  substitutes  excelsus 
for  coagulatus.  Yet  he  allows  pinguis  to  stand  ! 

18-19.  Verse  18  is,  perhaps,  a  free  imitation  of  Deut.  xxxiii.  2. 
The  Lord  comes  from  Sinai  (as  on  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Kishon, 
Judges,  v.  iff.)  ;  thousands  of  heavenly  beings  are  in  His  train.  With 
rich  booty  of  men  and  precious  things  He  comes  in  triumph  after 
the  battle,  and  ascends  on  high  to  His  throne  on  Sion,  or  to  His  horne 
in  heaven.  The  reference  may  be  directly  to  the  Ark  which  was, 
sometimes  at  least,  carried  into  battle,  and,  when  victory  was  won, 
was  brought  back  triumphantly  to  Sion  (cf.  Ps.  xxiii)  ;  or,  perhaps, 
we  should  find  here  an  indication  of  the  original  purpose  of  the  psalm — 
viz.  to  serve  as  a  hymn  in  the  ceremony  of  transferring  the  Ark  to 
Sion. 

Currus  Dei ;  the  triumphal  procession  of  God  :  the  chariots  are 
more  numerous  (multiplex)  than  ten  thousand,  i. e.  they  are  innumer- 
able.  The  mountain  of  Sion  is  the  new  Sinai,  the  new  sanctuary  of 
the  Lord.  As  the  Lord  once  dwelt  in  majesty  on  Sinai,  so  now  He 
will  dwell  on  Sion. 

Ascendisti  in  altum,  etc.  There  is  here,  obviously,  the  picture  of  a 
triumphal  procession  in  which  captives  are  led.  It  would  be  easier 
to  regard  this  section  of  the  poem  as  descriptive  of  a  celebration  of 
military  victories  than  as  inspired  by  the  transference  of  the  Ark  to 
Sion.  It  is  impossible,  of  course,  to  ascertain  the  exact  occasion  of 
the  psalm.  We  can  suppose  that  the  Ark  would  be  carried  in  the 
triumphal  procession  ( cf .  Ps.  xxiii),  and  borne  finally  to  its  shrine 
(in  altum).  The  people  accompany  the  Ark  with  tumultuous  re- 
joicing.  Prisoners  are  led  in  triumph,  and  tribute  and  offerings 
from  defeated  and  terrified  enemies  are  carried  along  to  the  shrine 
of  the  Lord.  Men  who  had  not  been  willing  to  believe  that  God  dwelt 
among  His  people  on  Sion  are  among  the  captives,  the  booty  of  the 
Lord.  (Ephes.  iv.  8  takes  the  description  here  as  applying  to  the 
Ascensi  on,  so  that  in  altum  would  naturally  mean  *  to  the  throne  of 
God  in  heaven/  The  immediate  and  literal  meaning  of  the  psalm  is 
obviously  to  some  great  military  success  of  the  Hebre ws.) 

Cepisti  captivitatem  *  captivitas  is  used  here  for  ‘  captives  ’  ; 
‘  Thou  hast  taken  captives/  or  ‘  Thou  bringest  captives  with  Thee/ 
(Probably  St.  Paul  is  thinking  of  this  verse  in  2  Cor.  ii.  14).  There 
may  be  here  again  an  echo  of  Deborah  (Jud.  v.  12). 

Dona  in  hominibus,  gifts  consisting  of  men  :  ‘  Thou  hast  received 
men  as  gifts/  The  phrase  could  also  mean  :  ‘  gifts  taken  from  among 
men/  Possibly  both  meanings  are  intended.  The  victor  not  merely 
leads  captives  in  his  train,  but  also  brings  gifts  which  he  has  received 
from  the  vanquished,  and  from  other  peoples  who  seek  his  favour. 

Non  credentes.  The  sense  may  be,  either  that  the  non  credentes 
are  among  those  led  along  as  captives  in  the  procession,  or  that 
the  Conqueror  receives  as  voluntary  subjects  even  those  who  pre- 


A  COMMEMORATION  OF  VICTORY 


263 


viously  had  not  believed  that  Yahweh  dwelt  on  Sion.  The  Hebrew 
here  is  obscure.  It  is  usually  rendered  :  ‘  And  even  the  rebellious 
will  dwell  with  Yah.’  In  verse  7  of  the  so/rim  (rebels)  appear  as 
qui  exasperant :  here  they  are  described  in  the  Vulgate  as  non  credentes. 
The  Latin  inhabitare  Dominum  Deum  is  the  construction  of  accusative 
and  infinitive  depending  on  non  credentes.  In  the  Hebrew,  so/rim 
(rebels)  is  construed  with  lishkon  in  the  sense  ;  ‘  the  rebels  shall  dwell 
with.'  The  Vulgate  and  Hebrew  can  be  brought  together  in  meaning 
by  supposing  the  Vulgate  to  mean  that  some  of  those  who  formerly 
doubted  that  Yahweh  dwelt  on  Sion,  now  are  ready  to  dwell  in  Jerusa- 
lem  and  to  acknowledge  Yahweh ’s  power  and  rule. 

Dominum  Deum  corresponds  to  Yah  ’Elohim  (JElohim  being  pro- 
bably  an  addition  to  the  primitive  text). 

20.  Here  begins  the  second  main  section  of  the  poem.  The  God 
who  has  fought  Israe/s  battles  in  the  glorious  past  rescues  the  people 
even  now  from  their  perils. 

Die  quotidie,  day  by  day  ;  per  singulos  dies  (Jer.) 

Deus  salutarium  is  a  construction  like  Deus  justitice. 

Prosperum  iter  faciet ,  etc.,  corresponds  to  Hebrew,  ‘  He  beareth 
us  along.” 

21.  Deus  (est)  Deus  salvos  [wos]  faciendi. 

The  exitus  in  the  context,  are  ways  of  escape  from  death.  It  is 
only  God  that  can  save  from  death. 

22.  The  Lord  destroys  the  enemies  of  His  own.  The  capita  and 
the  verticem  capilli  correspond  to  each  other  in  the  parallelism  :  the 
latter  means,  literally,  the  head  as  covered  with  hair. 

23.  24.  Is  this  also  an  extract  from  an  ancient  poem  ?  The  sense 
can  be,  either,  that  God  will  pursue,  and  overtake,  and  bring  back 
His  foes  wherever  they  may  fly  to  (as  in  Amos  ix.  2 ff.)  ;  or,  that  God 
will  bring  back  Israel  from  its  dispersion  and  give  it  bloody  vengeance 
on  its  foes.  Why  Bashan  and  the  depths  of  the  sea  are  taken  as  the 
extreme  points  of  flight  or  dispersion,  we  do  not  know.  Ex  profundo 
maris  would  give  a  better  sense,  and  would  be  equivalent  to  the 
Hebrew. 

Ab  ipso ,  i. e.,  a  sanguine. 

25.  A  description  of  the  procession. 

Viderunt,  ‘  men  see/  ‘  one  sees/  Apparently  the  procession  is 
thought  of  as  actually  marching  by. 

26.  For  the  scene,  cf.  the  singing  of  Miryam  and  her  maidens, 
Exod.  xv.  20.  The  principes  here,  are,  apparently,  the  heads  of  the 
classes  of  Le vites  who  had  charge  of  the  ritual  music. 

Tympanistrice  occurs  only  here  in  the  Vulgate  ;  they  are  the 
maidens  who  beat  the  tambourines.  The  text  suggests  that  they 
encircle  the  singers  and  zither-plavers. 

27.  A  snatch  of  the  processional  song. 

De  fontibus  Israel,  ‘  ye  who  are  of  the  ancient  stock  of  Israel/ 


THE  PSALMS 


264 

28.  Why  is  Ephraim  omitted  ?  Zabulon  and  Naphthali  appear 
prominently  in  the  Song  of  Deborah.  The  four  tribes  here  men- 
tioned  seem  to  represent  the  whole  people.  Benjamin  and  Juda 
represent  the  South  (Judea)  ;  Zabulon  and  Naphthali  the  North 
[i. e.  Galilee).  Benjamin  was  the  youngest,  and  ‘  little  ’  in  numbers. 

In  mentis  excessu,  *  in  ecstatic  feast-joy/  The  principes  are, 
here,  the  elders  representing  their  respective  districts  in  the  procession. 

29.  A  prayer  :  ‘  Send  forth  Thy  power  !  May  God  show  forth 
again  the  power  with  which  He  wrought  victory  for  ancient  Israel/ 
We  may  take  manda  and  confirma  with  a  templo  tuo  in  Jerusalem  (v.  30). 

30.  The  peoples  will  bring  offerings  to  God  to  Jerusalem. 

31.  The  ‘  beast  of  the  reeds  ’  is  either  crocodile  or  hippopotamus 
and  symbolises  Egypt.  Apparently  Egypt  is  censured  for  refusing 
friendly  overtures  from  Jerusalem. 

There  is  a  gathering  of  the  ‘  bulls  '  (i. e.  the  princes  and  leaders) 
with  the  *  cows  ’  of  the  peoples  {i. e.  the  peoples  themselves)  to  reject 
ambassadors  (apparently  from  Israel)  who  come  with  gifts  [argentum), 
to  make  themselves  secure  by  alliance  with  the  princes  and  their 
peoples.  Egypt,  perhaps,  is  either  the  sole,  or  the  chief  offender. 
God  is  called  on  to  scatter  and  destroy  those  nations  who  thus  refuse 
offers  of  peace  with  Israel.1  We  know  nothing  of  the  historical 
situation  implied. 

The  Massoretic  text  of  verse  31  is  as  unwieldy  as  is  the  Vulgate. 
It  shows  more  or  less  obvious  traces  of  corruption.  But  it  is  not 
easy  to  determine  the  extent  of  the  corruptions.  We  should  expect 
calves  '  simply  and  not  ‘  calves  of  the  peoples  *  beside  the  ‘  bulls/ 
The  clause  which  is  represented  by  the  Vulgate  ut  excludent  eos  qui 
probati  sunt  argento  ought  to  be  some  kind  of  parallel  to  Dissipa 
gentes  qucB  bella  volunt.  Schlogl  (Psalmen)  makes  several  elever 
emendations  which  resuit  in  the  sense  : 

*  Chide  the  beast  of  the  reed, 

Make  to  tremble  the  bulls  and  the  calves, 

Hurl  Thyself  against  those  who  love  deceit  ! 

Scatter  the  peoples  whose  joy  is  in  war  !  ’ 


1  Attempts  have  been  made  to  show  that  the  political  and  military  situation 
of  Israel  in  the  time  of  Ezechias  is  implied  throughout  the  psalm.  The  great 
victory  over  Sanherib,  the  Assyrian  Emperor,  took  place  during  the  reign  of 
Ezechias  (701  b.c.)  and  it  is  said  by  Isaias  (xxxvi.  6)  that  Ezechias  formed  an 
alliance  with  the  reigning  Ethiopic  dynasty  in  Egypt.  II  Paral.  xxxii.  23, 
speaks  of  gifts  which  were  sent  to  Ezechias  in  commemoration  of  Israel's  rescue 
from  Assyria,  and  some  of  those  gifts  may  have  come  from  Ethiopia.  But  in 
view  of  the  obscuri ty  of  verse  31  it  is  useless  to  seek  to  determine  the  precise 
political  situation  supposed  by  the  psalm.  Qui  probati  sunt  argento  may  perhaps 
not  mean  that  Israel  was  seeking  by  gifts  to  establish  an  alliance  with  Egypt, 
but  that,  though  Israel  had  been  already  tried  by  disaster,  as  silver  is  tested  by 
fire,  yet  her  old  enemies  wrere  stili  conspiring,  even  against  their  own  profit, 
to  destroy  her.  This  would  explain  the  wish  :  Dissipa  gentes  quee  bella  volunt . 
The  wish  suggests  an  age  of  military  weakncss  and  decay  in  Israel. 


A  COMMEMORATION  OF  VICTORY 


265 


The  general  sense  here  is  the  same  as  in  the  Vulgate.  The  ‘  beast  of 
the  reed  ’  (the  Septuagint  read  haiyoth  ‘  beasts/  instead  of  the  singular 
haiyath)  is  stili  Egypt  :  the  bulls  and  calves  (Vulgate  ‘  cows  ')  are 
the  princes  and  the  people  of  Egypt.  But  there  is  no  reference  to 
the  rejection  of  Hebrew  ambassadors  and  their  gifts,  which  the 
Vulgate  suggests.  The  ‘  bulls  and  calves  ’  balance  in  parallelism 
the  ‘  beast  of  the  reed  ’  and  ‘  those  who  love  deceit  *  (the  false 
Egyptians)  are  parallel  to  *  those  who  delight  in  war/  If  this  or  any 
similar  reconstruction  of  the  Hebrew  is  correct,  there  is  no  echo  here 
of  Ezechias’  dealings  with  Egypt. 1 

32,  33.  Whatever  may  be  the  present  attitude  of  Egypt  and 
Ethiopia  to  Israel,  the  time  will  yet  come  when  ambassadors  will  be 
sent  by  Egyptians  and  Ethiopians  to  bring  gifts  to  Jerusalem  and 
to  do  homage  to  its  God,  and  all  the  kings  of  the  nations  will  sing 
praise  to  Yahweh.  This  is  obviously  a  thought  associated  with  what 
may  be  called  the  Messianic  theology  of  prophecy.  C/.  Ps.  lxxi.  9-1 1 : 

Coram  illo  procident  Aethiopes,  et  inimici  ejus  terram  lingent. 

Reges  Tharsis  et  insulce  munera  offerent  :  reges  Arabum  et  Saba  dona  adducent 

et  adorabunt  eum  omnes  reges  terree,  omnes  gentes  servient  ei. 

Prceveniet  manus  is  a  literal  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  taris  yadeha 
(the  Massoretic  text  has  the  incorrect  yaday).  It  might  mean  to  rush 
eagerly  with  outstretched  hands.  A  slight  change  (taris  into  tarim) 
would  give  the  much  more  Hebrew  thought  :  ‘  Kush  (Ethiopia)  will 
raise  up  her  hands/ 

‘  God  '  ought  to  be  here  ‘  Yahweh  * — for  the  sense  is,  that  strangers 
will  come  to  see  that  the  God  of  Israel — Yahweh — is  the  God  of  the 
universe. 

34.  Qui  ascendit,  etc.  The  God  of  Israel  is  the  mighty  God  who 
traverses  (Hebrew,  '  rides  upon  ')  the  highest  heavens,  and  whose 
voice  is  the  thunder. 

Ad  orientem.  The  Vulgate  here  follows  closely  the  Massoretic 
text  ;  but,  that  text  has  probably  been  corrupted.  Instead  of — 
Larokhebh  bisheme  sheme  kedem,  ‘  to  Him  that  rides  on  the  highest 
eastern  heavens/  we  should  read  :  larokhebh  bashshemayim  mikkedem, 
'  to  Him  that  rides  through  the  heavens  from  the  beginning  ’  (i.e.  from 
etemity).  M  and  Sh  were  often  confused  in  the  older  form  of  the 
Hebrew  alphabet. 


1  To  make  Schlogl's  emendations  ciear  we  give  them  here  fully,  along  with 
the  Massoretic  text : 


Massoretic 


Schlogl 


Ge‘ar  haiyath  haneh, 

,adath  'abbirim  be'egle  ‘ammim, 
mithrappes  berasse  khaseph, 
bizzar  ‘ammim  kerabhoth  yehpasu. 


Ge‘ar  haiyath  haneh, 

' aros  ’ abbirim  ba‘agalim. 
hithrappes  berose  khazabh, 
pazzer  ‘ammim  kerabh  yehpasu. 


266 


THE  PSALMS 


Ecce  dabit,  etc.,  does  not  render  the  Hebrew  with  verbal  accuracy, 
but  the  sense  is  correct.  The  Hebrew  has  :  ‘  Lo  !  He  giveth  forth 
His  voice,  a  voice  and  might  ’  (‘  a  mighty  voice  ’). 

35.  Super  Israel :  the  Vulgate  means  :  ‘  to  the  God  who  rules 
Israel/  The  Hebrew,  as  usually  read,  takes  super  Israel  with  the 
lolio  wing  clause  :  ‘  Over  Israel  is  His  Maj  est  y  ;  and  His  power  is  in 
the  clouds/  The  Vulgate  arrangement  would  be  the  better  one  if 
we  could  insert  Domino  (Yahweh)  after  gloriam  : 

Give  honour  (to  Yahweh), 

To  the  God  of  Israel ! 

His  majesty  and  His  power 
Reach  even  to  the  clouds  ! 

36.  In  Sanctis  Suis.  Probably  we  should  read  here  in  the  Hebrew, 
tfmifydasho,  ‘  in  His  Sanctuary  '  For  Sancta,  in  the  sense  of  Sanctuary, 
compare  Ps.  cxxxiii.  2  :  Extollite  manus  vestras  in  sancta :  cl.  1  : 
Laudate  Dominum  in  sanctis  ejus.  The  psalmist  is  thinking  of  the 
glory  of  Yahweh  in  His  Temple. 


PSALM  LXVIII 


A  CRY  FROM  THE  DEPTHS  OF  SORROW 

THE  psalmist  is  in  sorest  need,  and  prays  to  the  Lord  for  help 
against  his  many  foes  (2-4).  His  enemies  accuse  him 
falsely  ;  he  has  indeed  sinried,  but  it  is  his  zeal  for  the  Lord, 
and  not  his  own  sin,  that  has  brought  him  suffering  (5-9). 
His  zeal  for  the  Temple  and  its  worship,  and  his  exact  fulfilment  of 
the  Law  have,  in  a  special  way,  been  the  source  of  his  present  griefs 
(10-13).  He  thinks  himself  peculiarly  entitled  to  the  sympathy  and 
help  of  the  Lord,  and  for  these  he  prays  (14-19).  Once  more  he 
describes  the  misery  of  his  position — His  isolation  and  the  ruthlessness 
of  his  foes  (20-22).  From  this  he  passes,  naturally  enough,  to  an 
eamest  prayer  for  vengeance  on  those  who  mock  and  maltreat  him. 
The  bittemess  of  the  psalmist ’s  words  in  this  section  (23-29)  is  re- 
markable.  From  the  passing  references  to  the  feasts  and  sacrifices 
of  his  adversaries  (23),  as  well  as  from  the  psalmist ’s  explanation  in 
verses  8, 10,  that  it  is  his  loyaltv  to  the  Lord  which  has  created  enemies 
for  him,  we  can  understand  that  his  attitnde  in  uttering  his  impre- 
cations  is  due  to  his  zeal  for  the  things  of  God,  rather  than  to  a  spirit 
of  personal  resentment.  For  himself  the  psalmist  is  certain  of  coming 
help  ;  and  he  vows  to  the  Lord  a  Service  of  praising  song  in  return 
for  the  rescue  which  he  confidently  expects  (30-34).  The  final  section 
(35-37)  is  probably  a  liturgi cal  addition  to  the  poem.  It  invites  ali 
the  world  to  join  in  the  song  of  praising  thanks  to  God  for  the  rescue 
of  Sion  and  Juda. 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  indicate  the  precise  date  or  occasion  of 
this  psalm.  In  the  New  Testament  it  is  frequently  quoted.  Three 
times  at  least  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  it  is  referred  to  as  a  forecast  of 
the  experiences  of  Our  Lord.  The  fifth  verse  is  quoted  in  John  xv. 
24,  25  :  the  quotation  is  put  in  the  mouth  of  Our  Lord  Himself,  and 
the  verse  is  spoken  of  by  Him  as  part  of  the  Torali  or  ‘  Law.’  In 
John  ii.  17  the  tenth  verse  is  applied  to  Christ  (as  also  by  St.  Paul 
in  Roms.  xv.  2,  3).  In  John  xix.  28  we  are  told  that  Our  Lords  cry, 
*  I  thirst/  was  intended  to  make  possible  the  fulfilment  of  verse  22. 
St.  Paul  (Roms.  xi.  9,  10)  looks  on  verses  23,  24  as  a  prophecy  of  the 
doom  which  was  to  fall  on  the  Jews  for  their  rejection  of  Christ.  St. 
Peter  interprets  verse  26  as  a  prophecy  of  the  fate  of  the  Betrayer 
(Acts  i.  20).  It  mav  be  taken  as  certain,  therefore,  that  this  psalm 
was  interpreted  Messianically  by  Our  Lord  and  the  Apostles.  St. 
Paul  speaks  (Roms.  xi.  9)  of  verses  23  and  24  as  having  been  written 

267 


/ 


268  THE  PSALMS 

by  David.  This  does  not,  of  course,  establish  per  se  the  Davidic 
origin  of  the  psalm.  Paul  speaks  in  the  passage  in  question  in  the 
usual  fashion  of  his  day,  according  to  which  the  psalms  in  general 
were  ascribed  to  David.  Whether  or  not  the  psalm-text  quoted  by 
him  is  Davidic,  his  argument  stands,  for  the  text  is  certainly  a  part 
of  Sacred  Scripture.  The  Messianic  interpretation  of  the  psalm 
does  not  exclude  the  possibilitv  that  it  describes  personal  experiences 
of  the  psalmist.  The  attitude  of  Our  Lord  to  the  psalm,  however, 
and  the  striking  anticipations  of  Our  Lords  sufferings  which  it  con- 
tains,  force  us  to  conclude  that,  as  the  psalmist  was  carried  beyond 
himself  and  the  context  of  his  experiences  in  poems  like  Ps.  xliv, 
which  describe  the  glory  and  beauty  of  the  ideal  king,  so  here,  in  de- 
picting  the  sorrows  of  a  just  man  oppressed  by  foes,  he  is  carried  on 
by  the  Spirit  to  depict  the  ideal — the  Messianic — Sufferer  (c/.  Ps.  xxi. 
30,  etc.).  The  traditional  exegesis  regards  David  as  the  author  of 
the  psalm,  and  this  point  of  view  has  been  reaffirmed  in  a  recent 
decree  of  the  Biblical  Commission.  Such  a  conservative  Catholic 
scholar,  however,  as  Prince  Max  (Erklcirung  der  Psalmen  und  Cantica, 
1914),  writing  four  years  subsequently  to  the  Decision  of  the  Com¬ 
mission,  maintains  that  verse  36  fixes  the  Babylonian  Exile  as  the 
date  of  the  psalm.  Against  Prince  Max  it  might  be  held  that  verses 
36  and  37  formed  no  part  of  the  original  poem,  but  are  a  liturgi cal 
addition  made  in  the  exilic  or  post-exilic  period.  Apart  from  these 
two  verses  there  is  nothing  in  the  psalm  which  would  necessarily 
connect  it  with  a  late  period.  The  tendency  of  all  modern  non- 
Catholic  criticism  is  to  regard  the  psalm  as  post-exilic,  and  even 
Maccabean. 


1.  In  finem  pro  iis  qui  com-  1. 
mutabuntur,  David. 

2.  Salvum  me  fac  Deus  :  quo-  2. 
niam  intraverunt  aquae  usque 

ad  animam  meam. 

3.  Infixus  sum  in  limo  pro-  3. 
fundi  :  et  non  est  substantia. 

Veni  in  altitudinem  maris  : 
et  tempestas  demersit  me. 

4.  Laboravi  clamans,  raucae  4. 
factae  sunt  fauces  meae :  de¬ 
fecerunt  oculi  mei,  dum  spero 

in  Deum  meum. 


5.  Multiplicati  sunt  super  ca-  5. 
pillos  capitis  mei,  qui  oderunt 

me  gratis. 

Confortati  sunt  qui  persecuti 
sunt  me  inimici  mei  injuste  : 
quae  non  rapui,  tunc  exsolvebam. 

6.  Deus  tu  scis  insipientiam  5 
meam  :  et  delicta  mea  a  te  non 
sunt  abscondita. 


For  the  choir-leader.  .  .  .  by  David. 

Rescue  me,  O  God  ! 

For  the  waters  have  come  in  on  my 
soul  ! 

I  am  sunk  in  a  deep  mire  ; 

Where  ground  there  is  none. 

I  am  come  into  deep  waters. 

And  the  storm  overwhelms  me. 

I  am  weary  from  crying  out  :  my  throat 
is  hoarse. 

My  eyes  are  fading  for  long  hoping  in 
God. 


More  numerous  than  the  hairs  of  my 
head 

Are  those  that  hate  me  without  cause. 
Powerful  are  my  persecutors, 

What  I  did  not  steal  I  now  must  pay 
back, 

O  God,  Thou  knowest  my  folly  ; 

And  my  sins  are  not  hid  from  Thee. 


A  CRY  FROM  THE  DEPTHS  OF  SORROW  269 


7.  Non  erubescant  in  me  qui  7. 
exspectant  te  Domine,  Domine 
virtutum. 

Non  confundantur  super  me 
qui  quaerunt  te,  Deus  Israel. 

8.  Quoniam  propter  te  susti-  8. 
nui  opprobrium':  operuit  con¬ 
fusio  faciem  meam. 

9.  Extraneus  factus  sum  fra-  9. 

tribus  meis,  et  peregrinus  filiis 
matris  meae. 

10.  Quoniam  zelus  domus  10. 
tuae  comedit  me  :  et  opprobria 
exprobrantium  tibi,  ceciderunt 
super  me. 

11.  Et  operui  in  jejunio  ani-  11. 
mam  meam  :  et  factum  est  in 
opprobrium  mihi. 

12.  Et  posui  vestimentum  me-  12. 
um  cilicium  :  et  factus  sum  illis 

in  parabolam. 

13.  Adversum  me  loquebantur  13. 
qui  sedebant  in  porta :  et  in  me 
psallebant  qui  bibebant  vinum. 

14.  Ego  vero  orationem  meam  14. 
ad  te  Domine  :  tempus  bene¬ 
placiti  Deus. 

In  multitudine  misericordiae 
tuae  exaudi  me  : 

15.  In  veritate  salutis  tuae  :  15. 

Eripe  me  de  luto,  ut  non 

infigar  :  libera  me  ab  iis,  qui 
oderunt  me,  et  de  profundis 
aquarum. 

16.  Non  me  demergat  tempe-  16. 
stas  aquae,  neque  absorbeat  me 
profundum  :  neque  urgeat  super 
me  puteus  os  suum. 

17.  Exaudi  me  Domine,  quo¬ 
niam  benigna  est  misericordia 
tua :  secundum  multitudinem 
miserationum  tuarum  respice 
in  me. 

18.  Et  ne  avertas  faciem  tuam  18. 
a  puero  tuo  :  quoniam  tribulor, 
velociter  exaudi  me. 

19.  Intende  animae  meae,  et  19. 
libera  eam :  propter  inimicos 
meos  eripe  me. 

20.  Tu  scis  improperium  me¬ 
um,  et  confusionem  meam,  et 
reverentiam  meam. 

21  In  conspectu  tuo  sunt 
omnes  qui  tribulant  me,  impro¬ 
perium  exspectavit  cor  meum, 
et  miseriam. 

Et  sustinui  qui  simul  con¬ 
tristaretur,  et  non  fuit :  et  qni 
consolaretur,  et  non  inveni. 


Let  not  those  who  wait  for  Thee  be 
brought  to  shame  through  me, 

O  Lord,  the  Lord  of  Hosts  ! 

Let  not  those  who  seelc  Thee  be  made  to 
blush  because  of  me, 

O  God  of  Israel  ! 

For  it  is  for  Thee  that  I  have  borne  taunts, 
And  shame  hath  covered  my  face  ; 

I  have  become  a  stranger  to  my  brothers, 
And  an  alien  to  the  sons  of  my  mother. 


For  zeal  for  Thy  house  devoureth  me  ; 
And  the  taunts  of  those  that  mock 
Thee  fall  upon  me. 

And  in  fasting  I  covered  myself  up  : 

But  this,  too,  has  become  a  reproach  to 
me. 

And  I  made  sackcloth  my  garment, 

But  I  (only)  became  a  byword  tothem. 

They  who  sit  in  the  gate  speak  against  me 
And  the  wine-bibbers  raise  a  taunt- 
song  against  me 

But  my  prayer  is  unto  Thee,  O  Lord  ! 

It  is  time  to  be  gracious,  O  God. 

In  the  abundance  of  Thy  loving-kind- 
ness  hear  me  ! 

With  Thy  faithful  help  rescue  me 

From  the  mire,  that  I  may  not  sink 
therein  ! 

Save  me  from  those  that  hate  me,  and 
from  the  deep  waters, 

That  the  flood  may  not  overwhelm  me, 

Nor  the  deep  swallow  me  up, 

Nor  the  pit  close  her  mouth  upon  me. 


And  turn  not  away  Thy  face  from  Thy 
servant, 

For  I  am  in  distress, 

Hear  me  quickly  ! 

Give  heed  to  my  life,  and  save  it  ! 
Rescue  me  because  of  my  foes  ! 


20.  Thou  knowest  my  disgrace, 

My  confusion  and  my  shame. 

21.  Before  Thee  are  all  who  oppress  me. 

My  heart  looked  for  shame  and  wretched- 

ness 

I  waited  for  one  who  would  have  sym- 
pathy  with  me  ; 

But  there  was  none  ; 

For  one  who  would  comfort  me  ; 

But  I  found  none. 


17.  Hear  me,  O  God,  for  gracious  is  Thy 
loving-kindness  : 

In  the  abundance  of  Thy  mercies  look 
on  me  ! 


2J0 


THE  PSALMS 


22.  Et  dederunt  in  escam  22. 
meam  fel :  et  in  siti  mea  pota¬ 
verunt  me  aceto. 

23.  Fiat  mensa  eorum  coram  23. 
ipsis  in  laqueum,  et  in  retribu¬ 
tiones,  et  in  scandalum. 

24.  Obscurentur  oculi  eorum  24. 
ne  videant  :  et  dorsum  eorum 
semper  incurva. 

25.  Effunde  super  eos  iram  25. 
tuam  :  et  furor  irae  tuae  compre¬ 
hendat  eos. 

26.  Fiat  habitatio  eorum  de-  26. 
serta  :  et  in  tabernaculis  eorum 
non  sit  qui  inhabitet. 

27.  Quoniam  quem  tu  percus¬ 
sisti,  persecuti  sunt  :  et  super 
dolorem  vulnerum  meorum  ad¬ 
diderunt. 

28.  Appone  iniquitatem  super 
iniquitatem  eorum  :  et  non  in¬ 
trent  in  justitiam  tuam. 

29.  Deleantur  de  libro  viven¬ 
tium  :  et  cum  justis  non  scri¬ 
bantur. 


30.  Ego  sum  pauper  et  dolens:  30. 
salus  tua  Deus  suscepit  me. 

31.  Laudabo  nomen  Dei  cum  31. 
cantico  :  et  magnificabo  eum  in 
laude  : 

32.  Et  placebit  Deo  super  vi-  32. 
tu lum  novellum  :  cornua  pro¬ 
ducentem  et  ungulas. 

33.  Videant  pauperes  et  lae-  33. 
tentur  :  quasrite  Deum,  et  vivet 
anima  vestra. 

34.  Quoniam  exaudivit  pau-  34. 
peres  Dominus  :  et  vinctos  suos 

non  despexit. 


35.  Laudent  illum  coeli  et  35* 
terra,  mare,  et  omnia  reptilia 

in  eis. 

36.  Quoniam  Deus  salvam  fa-  36. 
ciet  Sion  :  et  aedificabuntur 
civitates  Juda. 

Et  inhabitabunt  ibi,  et  haere- 
ditate  acquirent  eam. 

37.  Et  semen  servorum  ejus  37- 
possidebit  eam,  et  qui  diligunt 
nomen  ejus,  habitabunt  in  ea. 


They  gave  me  gall  for  food 

And  in  my  thirst  they  gave  me  vinegar 
to  drink. 

May  their  table  become  a  snare  before 
them, 

And  a  requital,  and  a  stumbling-block. 

May  their  eyes  be  darkened  that  they 
see  not  ! 

And  bend  Thou  their  back  at  ali  times  ! 

Pour  out  upon  them  Thy  anger, 

And  let  Thy  fierce  wrath  seize  them  ! 

Let  their  dwelling  become  a  wilderness  : 

Let  there  be  none  to  dwell  in  their  tentsl 


I  am  poor  and  wretched  ; 

Thy  help,  O  God,  doth  guard  me. 

I  will  praise  the  name  of  God  in  song. 

And  glorify  Him  with  praise. 

That  will  be  more  pleasing  to  God  than 
a  young  bull 

Which  hath  horns  and  hoofs. 

Let  the  poor  see  it  and  rejoice  ! 

Seek  after  God,  and  your  souls  shall 
live. 

For  the  Lord  heareth  the  poor  : 

And  despiseth  not  his  servants  in 
chains. 


Let  heavens  and  earth  praise  Him, 

The  sea  and  all  that  moveth  therein  ! 

For  the  Lord  will  rescue  Sion 

And  the  cities  of  Juda  will  be  rebuilt 
And  men  shall  dwell  therein. 

And  shall  hold  it  as  a  firm  possession. 

And  the  seed  of  His  servants  shall  inherit 
it ; 

And  all  those  who  love  His  name  shall 
dwell  therein. 


27.  For  him  whom  Thou  smitest  they  also 

pursue  ; 

And  the  pain  of  my  wound  they  in- 
crease. 

28.  Charge  them  with  sin  upon  sin  ! 

And  let  them  not  enter  into  Thy 
justice  ! 

29.  May  they  be  blotted  out  from  the  Book 

of  Life  ; 

And  may  they  not  be  written  down 
with  the  just ! 


1.  Pro  iis  qui  commutabuntur  as  in  the  title  of  Ps.  xliv  is  due  to 
the  Septuagint  reading  of  the  Hebrew  as  ‘al  sheshshonin’  (‘  for  the 


A  CRY  FROM  THE  DEPTHS  OF  SORROW  271 

things  which  change  *),  instead  of  ‘al  shoshannim ,  which  is  usually 
translated,  *  According  to  lilies/  as  if  ‘  Lilies  ’  were  the  name  of  the 
an  cient  melody  after  which  the  psalm  was  to  be  sung.  Possibly 
shoshannim  was  the  name  of  one  of  the  groups  of  ofhcial  singers,  so 
that  the  Hebrew  title  may  mean  :  ‘  For  the  (or  belonging  to  the) 
choir-master  of  shoshannim  group/  Cf.  Ps.  lix.  i  ;  xliv.  i  ; 
lxxix.  1. 

2,  3.  The  psalmist  describes  himself  partly  as  a  drowning  man, 
and  partly  as  one  sinking  into  a  quagmire  or  morass  (cf.  verse  15). 
The  pictures  suggest  deep  misery.  Some  commentators  find  here  a 
reference  to  the  custom  of  imprisoning  criminals  in  cistems.  Some- 
times  (as  in  Jer.  xxxviii.  6)  there  would  be  deep  mud  or  mire  in  the 
cistern.  But  in  any  case  the  whole  verse  is  to  be  understood  figura- 
tivelv. 

Substantia,  ‘  foundation/  ‘bottom/  For  non  est  substantia  the 
Targum  has  :  *  There  is  no  place  to  stand/  (So  in  Syriae.) 

4.  The  sufferer  had  called  for  help  till  he  grew  hoarse. 

Dum  spero,  ‘  from  hoping  ’ — a  case  of  :  ‘  hope  deferred  maketh 
the  heart  sick/ 

5.  Super  capillos,  ‘  more  than  the  hairs/  etc. 

Injuste= gratis ;  he  had  given  them  no  ground  for  hostility 
(John  xv.  24,  25). 

Quce  non  rapui,  etc.,  the  phrase  seems  to  be  proverbial.  Tunc 
is  difficult  to  explain.  It  may  refer  to  the  point  of  time  when  the 
hostilities  of  his  foes  began  ;  ‘  Then  it  was  a  case  of  paying  back 
what  I  had  not  taken/ 

It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  Hebrew  'az  (tunc)  ought  to  be 
changed  either  into  ’ani  (ego)  or  zeh  (heee  or  hoc). 

The  clause  confortati  sunt  qui  persecuti  sunt  me  inimici  mei  injuste 
represents  the  Massoretic  very  exactly.  Reading  me  asmothai  instead 
of  the  Massoretic  masmithai,  we  should  get  the  simpler  sense  : 

Confortati  sunt  super  me  inimici  mei  injuste :  *  Stronger  than  me 
are  they  who  are  my  enemies  without  cause/ 

6.  The  psalmist  seems  to  mean  :  ‘  I  am  not,  of  course,  sinless  ; 
but  my  sins  are  known  to  God  alone,  and  do  not  excuse  the  conduct 
of  my  foes/  These  words  on  the  lips  of  Our  Lord  could,  obviously, 
only  refer  to  the  sins  of  men  for  which  He  was  suffering. 

7.  He  prays  that  the  faith  of  those  who  trust  in  the  Lord  may 
not  be  shaken  by  his  misfortunes.  There  is  implied  in  this  a  prayer 
that  his  misfortunes  may  soon  cease.  It  would  be  a  disgrace  to  the 
Lord,  and  to  His  worshippers  generally,  if  the  psalmist  were  to  be 
completely  undone.  The  words  could  be  referred,  in  a  general  way, 
to  the  ‘  Scandal  of  the  Cross/ 

8.  Point  is  lent  to  the  preceding  by  the  thought  that  the  psalmist 's 
griefs  are  due  solely,  or  mainly,  to  his  loyalty  to  God. 

9.  Even  his  nearest  friends  ha  ve  abandoned  him  because  of  his 


272 


THE  PSALMS 


loyalty  to  the  Lord.  Is  it  implied  that  those  hostile  brethren  ha  ve 
gone  over,  in  some  way,  to  heathenism  ? 

10.  The  House,  is  the  Temple.  The  honour  of  that  House  is 
his  own  ;  and  the  dishonour  of  that  House  touches  him  as  nearly  as 
his  personal  griefs.  It  is  chiefly  because  of  the  psalmisfs  intense 
devotion  to  the  Temple  that  he  has  made  enemies.  We  do  not  know 
the  precise  background  of  the  verse.  (C/.  John  ii.  17  and  Roms.  xv.  3 
for  application  to  Christ.) 

11.  Operui.  This  word  makes  difficulty.  The  Massoretic  text 
has  :  “I  wept  ;  in  fasting  was  my  soul,”  or  ‘  I  wept  out  my  soul  in 
fasting  ’ — as  Jerome  has  it  :  Flevi  in  jejunio  animam  meam.  The 
Vulgate  translates  a  Hebrew  'ekhseh,  ‘  I  covered/  which  gives  no 
real  sense.  Possibly  the  best  reading  is  ’ekhna‘ ,  ‘  I  humbled/  It  is 
supported  by  the  Vatican  Codex.  C/.  Ps.  xxxiv.  13,  Humiliabam  in 
jejunio  animam  meam.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  what  sense  the 
phrase  :  “I  mantled  up  my  soul  in  fasting  ”  could  ha  ve.  Bellar- 
mine’s  explanation  :  Operui  caput  meum  jejunando ,  reads  into  the 
phrase  an  intelligible,  though  purely  conjectural,  sense. 

The  prayer  and  fasting  of  the  psalmist  made  him  all  the  more  a 
target  for  the  mocking  attacks  of  his  foes. 

12.  Posui,  ‘  I  made  '  (Hebrew  nathan).  When  he  put  on  sack- 
cloth,  he  became  a  byword  (a  mashal,  parabola)  to  his  enemies. 

13.  At  the  gate  all  the  latest  news  would  be  discussed  ;  there 
the  psalmist ’s  enemies  could  most  successfully  mock  at  his  griefs, 
and  spread  ludicrous  reports  about  him.  The  wine  bibbers,  too,  in 
the  city,  made  a  butt  of  him  in  their  drinking-songs.* 1 

14.  Ego  vero  orationem  is  a  slavish  reproduction  of  the  idiom  of 
the  Massoretic  text.  The  Hebrew  means  :  ‘  As  for  me — my  prayer 
is  unto  Thee,  O  Lord  !  ’  The  emphatic  pronoun  (‘  and  I  ’)  puts  the 
psalmist  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  mockers  just  mentioned. 

Tempus  beneplaciti  Deus  should  be  connected  with  the  following, 
and  the  Vulgate  punctuation  ought  to  be  changed  thus  :  Tempus 


1  There  is  a  specimen  of  a  toper’s  taunt-song  in  Is.  xxviii.  10.  Wearied 
of  the  prophefs  preaching  of  law  and  restraint,  the  drunkards  repeat  the  out- 
standing  words  of  the  prophefs  message  in  a  drunken  refrain  : 

Saw  lasaw,  saw  lasaw  ; 
kaw  lakaw,  kaw  lakaw  ; 
ze>  er  sham,  ze'er  sham. 

Job  complains  (xxx.  9)  how  those  who  were  once  outcasts  now  mock  him  :  ‘  Now 

I  am  the  theme  of  their  song  ( neginatham ,  same  word  as  here  in  psalm)  ;  and  I 
have  become  unto  them  a  byword.'  Neginah  (taunt-song)  is  used  again  in 
Lam.  iii.  14  in  the  same  sense  as  here.  The  plural  of  this  word — neginoth  occurs 
often  in  the  superscriptions  of  the  psalms,  and  is  there  usually  rendered  by 
carmina  in  the  Vulgate.  It  is  possible,  however,  as  has  been  already  more  than 
once  said,  that  in  the  superscriptions  neginoth  is  the  name  which  was  borne  by 
one  of  the  groups  of  Temple  singers. 


A  CRY  FROM  THE  DEPTHS  OF  SORROW  273 

beneplaciti  Deus  ;  in  multitudine,  etc.  It  is  a  time  when  God’s  favour 
is  urgently  needed.  Hence  the  psalmist  prays  earnestly  for  help. 

Though  a  fairly  intelligible  meaning  may,  thus,  be  attached  to 
verse  14,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  verse  appears  to  be  awkward 
both  in  the  Vulgate  and  the  Massoretic  text.1 * * 

15,  16.  In  ventate,  etc.,  should  be  read  with  eripe.  The  psalmist 
here  asks  to  be  delivered  from  the  troubles  which  he  had  referred  to 
at  the  beginning  (verses  2-3) — from  the  troubles  symbolised  by  the 
mire,  and  the  deep  waters,  and  the  storm.  The  puteus  is  the  cistem 
with  its  unfathomable  depth  of  mire  of  verse  3.  In  the  symbolism  of 
the  text  puteus,  tempestas  and  profundum  are  on  the  same  level — all 
being  figures  of  the  misery  which  the  singer  endured.  The  closing  of 
its  mouth  by  the  puteus  is  the  closing  in  of  the  mire  over  him  who 
sinks  in  it. 

A  b  iis  qui  oderunt  me  is  an  unexpected  introduction  of  the  concrete 
into  the  midst  of  the  symbolical.  It  may  well  be  a  marginal  gloss 
which  has  found  its  way  into  the  text. 

17.  Respice  in  me  :  the  Hebrew  has,  ‘  In  Thy  manifold  pity  turn 
to  me/ 

18.  Read  quoniam  tribulor  with  ne  avertas,  etc.  Velociter,  etc., 
stands,  then,  as  a  separate  clause.  Ne  avertas  corresponds  to  the 
Massoretic,  ‘  Hide  not/ 

19.  To  rescue  the  psalmist  is  to  confound  his  enemies.  The  Hebrew 
has  :  ‘  Draw  nigh  to  my  soul/ 

20.  The  poet  turns  here  again  to  the  description  of  his  condi tion. 

21.  The  Massoretic  text  ought  probably  to  be  so  efnended  as  to 

connect  the  first  sentence  of  verse  21  with  verse  20.  “  Thou  knowest 

my  shame,  etc.  (which  is)  before  (i. e.  visible  to)  all  my  foes.”  Though 
he  had  looked  for  some  sign  of  Divine  support  or  sympathy,  he  had 


1  The  whole  verse  is  difficult  both  in  the  Vulgate  and  Hebrew.  Tempus 
beneplaciti  Deus  has  no  very  obvious  meaning — though  the  one  above  suggested 
saves  the  Latin  from  being  mere  words.  It  is  probable  that  the  Hebrew  of  the 
verse  underwent  corruption  before  the  origin  of  the  Greek  version.  When  the 
vowel  points  and  other  helps  to  reading  the  Hebrew  text  are  removed,  and  that 
text  appears  without  divisions  of  words  in  a  purely  consonantal  form,  emenda- 
tions  immediately  suggest  themselves. 

wa’ani  easily  becomes  'alai  (on  me)  and  can  be  connected  with  the  preceding 
'  the  taunt  song  of  topers  on  me.'  The  consonants  of  the  next  two  words 
tp  It  l  k  can  be  read  tippol  telekh.  Tippol  (falleth)  goes  then  with  the  preceding 
— 4  the  taunt-song  of  topers  falleth  on  me.'  This  sentence  is  complete.  Telekh 
(cometh)  should  be  read  with  the  next  following  word,  ‘ eth  (time)  :  “  May  there 
come  a  season  of  favour.'  'Elohim  probably  does  not  belong  to  the  original 
text.  ‘  May  there  come  a  season  of  favour  ’  is  a  parallel  to,  ‘  In  the  abundance 
of  Thy  loving-kindness  hear  me.’  Compare  with  verse  14  the  passage  in  Is.  xlix.  8  : 

Thus  saith  Yahweh  : 

In  a  time  of  favour  do  I  answer  thee, 

And  in  a  day  of  deliverance  help  thee. 

The  Vulgate  renders  here  in  tempore  placito. 

18 


274 


THE  PSALMS 


/ 


found  none.  But  the  Vulgate  improperium  expectavit  is  difficult. 
In  the  Massoretic  text  verse  21  reads  : 

Insuit  has  broken  my  heart,  and  I  am  hopelessly  sick,(?) 

I  look  for  sympathy  and  there  is  none  ! 

For  comforters  and  find  them  not  ! 

It  was  not  for  improperium  that  the  psalmist  looked.  How  then 
explain  the  origin  of  the  improperium  expectavi  ?  Apparently  the 
Greek  translator  was  here  again  misled  by  his  familiarity  with  Aramaic, 
and  his  comparative  ignorance  of  Hebrew.  The  Massoretic  text  has 
herpah  shabherah  libbi,  but  the  Greek  translator  read  instead  of 
shabhar,  ‘  to  break/  the  Aramaic  sabbar,  ‘  to  expect/  The  subject 
of  this  verb  became  libbi  (my  heart),  and  its  object  herpah  (shame). 
The  Hebrew  wa’ anushah  ‘  and  I  am  hopelessly  sick  ’(?)  has  become 
et  miseriam.  Here  also  Aramaic  influences  are  at  work  ;  ’ anushah 
was,  apparently,  read  as  if  it  were  the  Aramaic  word  'anusiya,  ‘  dis- 
tress/  The  Syriae  (Peshitta)  reads  :  ‘  Heal  the  fracture  of  my  heart, 
and  bind  it  up  ’  ;  the  Targum,  ‘  Shame  hath  broken  my  heart  and 
behold  it  (the  shame)  is  great/  Jerome  renders,  Opprobrio  contritum 
est  cor  meum  et  desperatus  sum  (obviously  a  rendering  of  a  text  identical 
in  consonants  with  the  Massoretic). 

22.  The  reference  here  seems  to  be  to  the  bitterness  of  calumny, 
and  evil  report  generally.  The  psalmist  has  hungered  and  thirsted 
for  words  of  kindness  and  sympathy  ;  but  for  the  food  and  drink  of 
gracious  sympathy  he  has  to  quaff  the  bitter  poison  of  mockery,  and 
evil  words. 

Dederunt  in  escam  follows  literally  the  Hebrew  idiom.  The  Hebrew 
means,  ‘  They  made  ....  my  food/  This  verse  is  applied  to  Our 
Lord  in  John  xix.  28-30  ;  Matt.  xxvii.  34-48  ;  Mark  xv.  23  (cf. 
Lamentations  iii.  15,  19). 

The  Hebrew  word  represented  by  fel  (gall)  is  ro’sh — the  name  of  a 
poisonous  piant.  The  ancient  versions- — Septuagint,  Syriae,  Targum 
— ha  ve  all  translated  it  by  a  word  meaning  gall,  or  ‘  the  bitter  thing/ 
Jeremias  uses  me  ro’sh,  ‘  waters  of  ro' sh’  in  the  sense  of  a  bitter  draught 
which  God  makes  Israel  to  drink  because  of  its  sins  (Jer.  viii.  14  ; 
ix.  15  ;  xxiii.  15). 

The  gall  and  the  vinegar  were  both  given  to  Our  Lord  in  His  Passion. 
Matthew  speaks  of  the  vinum  cum  felle  mistum  which  was  offered  to 
Our  Lord  at  the  beginning  of  the  Crucifixion  (Matt.  xxvii.  34.  Mark 
calls  it  myrrhatum  vinum  xv.  23).  Luke  says  that  the  soldiers  offered 
vinegar  to  Jesus  as  He  hung  on  the  cross.  (For  the  offering  of  the 
vinegar-moistened  sponge  cf.  Matt.  xxvii.  48  ;  Mark  xv.  36  ;  John  xix. 
29).  Contrast  the  text  in  Prov.  xxxi.  6  :  ‘  Give  strong  drink  to 
him  that  is  about  to  perish  and  wine  to  those  who  are  bitter  of  soul/ 

23-29.  The  greatness  of  the  psalmist ’s  grief  forces  from  him  these 
violent  curses  on  his  foes.  It  must  be  remembered  that  he  suffered, 
as  he  says  (verses  8,  10),  for  the  sake  of  the  Lord.  His  enemies  are. 


A  CRY  FROM  THE  DEPTHS  OF  SORROW  275 


therefore,  the  enemies  of  God,  and  as  such  deserve  the  evils  which  the 
psalmist  invokes  upon  them.  The  direct  attribution  to  Our  Lord 
of  words  of  imprecation  such  as  we  ha  ve  here  is  very  difficult.  It  is 
much  simpler  and  more  natural  to  hold  that  in  these  imprecatory 
verses  the  psalmist  speaks  from  his  own  standpoint,  and  not  as  a  type 
of  the  Messias.  Frequently  in  the  psalms  we  find  the  psalmist 
praying  that  his  enemies  might  themselves  come  to  feel  the  sufferings 
which  they  sought  to  pile  on  him.  Hebrew  thought  was  largely 
influenced  by  the  principle  of  equi  valent  retribution — the  lex  talionis 
as  it  is  called.  The  spirit  of  the  psalm-passage  is  the  same  as  that 
of  David  when  he  says  to  his  enemy  Saul  (I  Kings  xxvi.  19) :  ‘  If  Yah- 
weh  hath  stirred  thee  up  against  me,  may  He  receive  graciouslv  an 
offering,  but  if  men  (ha ve  stirred  thee  up),  may  they  be  accursed 
before  the  face  of  Yahweh  because  they  drive  me  forth  to-day,  so  that 
I  may  not  share  in  the  inheritance  of  Yahweh,  while  they  say  :  Begone  ! 
Worship  other  gods  !  ’  David  cursed  the  foes  who  sought  to  prevent 
him  from  sharing  in  the  public  worship  of  the  Lord,  and  the  psalmist 
curses  his  foes  because  of  their  cruelty  on  the  one  hand,  and  because 
of  their  tendency  to  heathenism  on  the  other.  The  zeal  of  the  psalmist 
in  denouncing  the  '  table  ’  and  ‘  offerings  '  (Hebrew)  of  his  enemies 
'is  but  an  aspect  of  his  zeal  for  the  House  of  God  (verse  10).  His 
curse  is,  in  a  sense,  merely  a  prophecy — for  he  only  prays  that  that 
may  befall  his  foes  which  would  naturally  follow  on  their  hostility 
to  God's  servant,  and  on  their  tendency  to  idolatry. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  St.  Paul  apparently  takes  the  curses  here 
pronounced ' as  intended  in  some  way  for  the  Jews  who  rejected  Our 
Lord  (Roms.  xi.  9,  10).  St.  Paul,  however,  implies  that  the  impre- 
cations  were  spoken  by  the  psalmist  primarily  against  his  own  foes, 
and  only  typically  against  the  foes  of  Jesus.  Paul  puts  the  words 
in  the  mouth  of  David,  and  not  in  that  of  Christ.  Of  Our  Lord  the 
saying  was  true  :  f  He  opened  not  His  mouth  in  complaint,  like  the 
lamb  that  is  led  to  the  slaughter,  and  like  an  ewe  that  before  her 
shearers  is  dumb  ’  (Is.  liii.  7). 

The  ‘  table  '  might  symbolise  in  the  Vulgate  the  luxury  of  the 
psalmist ’s  foes.  The  thought  immediately  suggested  by  the  Vulgate 
text  is  that  the  enemies  of  the  psalmist  are  suddenly  surprised  by 
disaster  as  they  sit  feasting  in  luxurious  and  careless  ease.  Retri¬ 
butiones  might  be  explained  as  the  due  punishment  of  their  cruelties 
and  their  crimes  which  now  overtakes  them  ;  and  scandalum  might 
be  regarded  as  expressing  the  idea  that  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked 
has  now  been  brought  rudely  to  a  close.  The  Vulgate,  however,  does 
not  reproduce  exactly  the  Massoretic  text.  Retributiones  implies  a 
Hebrew  original  shillumim.  The  Targum  rendering  nikhsathhon 
(their  sacrifices)  suggests  that  the  true  reading  of  the  Hebrew  word 
is  shalmehem  ('  their  peace-offerings  ’).  In  the  parallelism  of  the 
verse  ‘  their  peace-offerings  '  ought  to  be  somehow  equivalent  to 


276 


THE  PSALMS 


*  their  table/  The  ‘  table  ’  must  then  be  suggestive  of  sacrificial 
worship  ;  and  the  whole  verse  may  be  taken  as  referring  to  such 
forms  of  religious  worship  as  would  be  a  snare  and  a  stumbling-block 
to  the  foes  of  the  psalmist.  Thus  the  emphasis  with  which  the  psalmist 
denounces  his  enemies  may  be  largely  due  to  their  devotion  to  some 
form  of  heathen  worship.  One  who  was  eaten  up  by  zeal  for  the 
Temple  and  the  Law  could  not  do  otherwise  than  curse  those  who 
were  abandoning  the  Temple,  and  joining  with  heathens  in  their 
sacrificial  rites. 

We  know  nothing,  of  course,  of  the  actual  situation  here  implied. 

24.  The  back  of  his  foes  is  to  be  constantly  bent  under  the  weight 
of  the  burdens  they  shall  be  forced  to  bear.  As  applied  to  the  Jewish 
people  this  wish  might  be  regarded  as  fulfilled  in  the  loss  of  their 
national  independence,  and  their  perpetual  ensla vernent  under  other 
peoples.  Instead  of  dorsum  ....  incurva  the  Massoretic  text  reads  : 

‘  Make  their  loins  shake  without  ceasing/  The  Latin  suggests  the 
enforced  bearing  of  a  burden  which  is  too  heavy,  the  Hebrew  the 
destruction  of  bodily  strength.  In  Ps.  lxv.  11  there  is  the  same 
rendering  of  the  Hebrew  mothnayim  (loins)  by  dorsum.  The  Aramaic 
maihnatha  means  both  loins  and  back. 

26.  The  habitatio  is  the  same  as  the  4  tents/  The  Hebrew  tirah 
(, habitatio )  means  encampment  or  battlement.  The  Greek  transla- 
tion  eVavAt?  suggests  an  enclosure  where  sheep  were  kept,  and  is 
founded  on  the  sense  of  the  Aramaic  word  fyara  (sheepfold).  (For 
the  application  of  this  text  to  Judas,  see  Acts  i.  16,  17,  20.) 

27.  It  would  have  been  bitter  enough  if  the  pains  inflicted  by  God 
had  been  allowed  to  stand  unincreased  ;  but  the  enemies  have  added 
to  them.  The  Massoretic  text  is  here  unsatisfactory.  As  it  stands 
it  reads  :  ‘  For  Thou — whom  Thou  didst  smite  they  have  pursued  ; 
they  teli  of  the  pain  of  Thy  pierced  ones/  ‘  They  teli  of  '  (yesapperu) 
was  read  by  the  Greek  translators  as  a  part  of  the  verb  yasaph  (to 
increase).  Vulnerum  meorum  takes  the  place  of  ‘  Thy  pierced  ones/ 
The  Greek  translators  probablv  misread  their  Hebrew  text,  and  the 
Massora  also  failed  to  hand  it  on  correctly.  The  second  part  of  the 
verse  ought  to  be  a  parallel  to  the  first.  By  very  slight  emendations 
of  the  Massoretic  text  we  get  the  balanced  verse  : 

They  pursue  him  whom  Thou  hast  smitten  ; 

They  see  with  joy  the  pain  wherewith  Thou  hast  pierced  me  ! 

It  is  obvious  that  this  emended  text  was  very  exactly  fulfilled  in 
the  Passion  of  Our  Lord. 

28.  “  Add  to  their  sin/'  ‘  reckon  up  every  detail  of  their  offending  ’ : 

*  charge  them  with  sin  upon  sin/  *  Justice  '  here,  seems  to  mean 
sentence  of  pardon  or  acquittal. 

29.  The  idea  is  that  there  is  a  Book  in  which  God  has  written 
the  names  of  ali  living  beings.  The  “  living  "  are  those  who  stand 
in  His  favour.  As  a  man’s  name  might  be  erased  from  the  roll  of 


A  CRY  FROM  THE  DEPTHS  OF  SORROW  277 


citizens  of  a  city,  so  an  individual  might  come  to  be  omitted  from  the 
roll  of  God’s  friends.  The  doom  of  exclusion  from  the  “  Book  of  the 
Living  ”  will  not  be  a  consequence  of  the  psalmist’s  praycr  (or  curse), 
but  of  his  enemies’  infidelity  and  hostility  to  God.  Thus,  even  though 
the  psalmist  does  not  practise  the  reserve  prescribed  by  St.  Paul 
(Roms.  xii.  19)  his  attitude  is  fundamentally  the  same  as  that  of  the 
Apostle. 

30.  The  poet  contrasts  his  own  position  and  hopes  with  the  future 
which  he  would  ha  ve  assigned  to  his  enemies. 

31.  He  is  confident  that  he  will  be  saved  from  his  present  troubles. 
Hence  he  promises  to  sing  songs  of  praise  and  tlianks  to  God  con- 
tinually. 

32.  The  thanksgiving  of  praising  song  will  be  dearer  to  God  than 
the  offering  of  strong,  lusty  (=novellus)  bulls  with  well  developed  homs 
and  hoofs.  The  Hebrew  runs  better  :  “  This  (i. e.  the  praise)  will 
please  Yahweh  more  than  a  bull  ”  ;  “  more  than  a  bullock  with  horns 
and  with  hoofs.”  The  Greek  translators  read  the  word  for  *  bullock  ’ 
{par)  as  if  it  were  an  adjective  meaning  ‘  young/  or  ‘  lusty.’ 

34.  The  "  poor  ”  are  those  in  like  position,  and  of  like  condition 
with  the  poet.  Who  the  vincti  are  we  do  not  know.  They  may  be 
all  such  as  suffer  any  bondage  for  the  sake  of  the  Lord.  Modern 
commentators  find  here  a  reminiscence  of  the  return  from  the  Exile. 

35-37.  Seems  to  be  a  liturgical  addition  to  the  poem.  Hence 
the  references  to  post-exilic  reconstruction  in  verse  35  is  not  to  be 
taken  as  decisively  proving  that  the  entire  psalm  is  post-exilic. 


,  „  j  .  •  r  _r  i  •  *  r  T  r  .  *  r  »  , 

nonciu  rl i:wf  a:>». n  Jl/ji  vorii  vnti) 
nnn  vfn  ‘yj?.  nisi  bl»D37  o /tW 
■ia  ‘norli  iaoxn  ootio  jjs  ytviJ  vjsM 

;  '  •  .'jr*.  Jiu  OJ  y  l.j  Oli  // 


.fXLfiarn  msirn ns>  minoutp  urp  /i:n 
io  .mimoTioi  urinsiiovA  .1. 
idirn  im/iov  hip  njsocod  ino 

■  I  C'  ['ff 

■  i  i  ooe odxno  ( n  r)  i >  i «  i  ui  n  i  o  A 
.osuT  ;  irfrra  hu nib  iriD  .^o  1 


OBOriJ  /1.6 
A-w,  ori 7/ 


.r,  rx- 


■iri.GS  imrsii 


J')  jh< 

ifunssnp  it/j 
:  'toq 
i;;p 


?ocr 


fi  l  me  I  i: Ai  .< 

I  b  ck)  O  ,orfj  qiaH 
xoqf.oH  vifi  txr>  uoxiT 
I>oO  O  .ion  -niL T 


fJOgO  OXO/  0%.‘I  ,<) 

ibn  euttQ  :  mus  vks 
.«jjoxrx  ioi(/(bA 
miniotl  :  iri  ?o  erjaxxx 


ni 


li\\ 


i ix  oorroe' 


ai  i  oii ! 

*  i  ({  f  pr  r  i  p.  rl  t 


irjnincraiiz  tmi  ;u  m 


i  Aii  IV. 
I  iti  i^r/irii 


r  r> 


IJ J[)  )  L 


•  .nonqro^ioqua  oj Aglxr/  mif 
oijii  v/ ndoTI  d/fl  ni  b  of  nni 
o  aj  or{  f  of  onb  od  ot  an noa 
id>H  'i/1  j  lo  rfnoyv  ov/i  finii 
fon  oh  ainovs  >y/j  finit  oeo/lT 


PSALM  LXIX 


A  CRY  FOR  HELP  AGAINST  ENEMIES 


THIS  psalm  is  practically  identical  with  verses  14-18  of 
Psalin  xxxix.  The  differences  between  the  two  forms  of 
the  text  are  purely  redactional.  In  Psalm  lxix  there  is  a 
general  tendency  to  substitute  'Elohim  for  Yahweh  (so,  in 
verses  2,  5.  In  verse  6  a  we  ha  ve  'Elohim  for  the  'Adonai  of  xxxix 
i8a).  In  one  place,  however,  (verse  6 b)  Psalm  lxix  reads  Yahweh 
where  Psalm  xxxix  (verse  186)  has  'Elohim.  The  other  points  of 
difference  in  the  Massoretic  text  of  the  two  recensions  of  the  psalm 
are  of  slight  importance. 


1.  In  finem.  Psalmus  David,  1.  For  the  choir-leader.  A  psalm  of  David  in 
In  rememorationem  quod  sal-  memory  of  the  Lord’s  rescue  of  him. 

vum  fecerit  eum  Dominus. 


2.  Deus  in  adjutorium  meum 
intende  :  Domine  ad  adjuvan¬ 
dum  in  me  festina. 

3.  Confundantur  et  reverean¬ 
tur,  qui  quaerunt  animam  meam. 

4.  Avertantur  retrorsum,  et 
erubescant,  qui  volunt  mihi 
mala. 

Avertantur  statim  erubescen¬ 
tes,  qui  dicunt  mihi  :  Euge, 
euge. 

5.  Exsultent  et  laetentur  in 
te  omnes  qui  quaerunt  te,  et 
dicant  semper :  Magnificetur 
Dominus :  qui  diligunt  salu¬ 
tare  tuum. 


2.  O  Lord,  set  Thy  mind  to  help  me  ! 

Make  haste,  O  Lord,  to  help  me  ! 

3.  May  they  be  put  to  shame  and  confusion 

Who  seek  to  take  my  life  ! 

4.  May  they  fall  back  with  dishonour 

Who  would  fain  see  my  ruin  ! 

May  they  at  once  meet  their  shame 
Who  cry  to  me  :  Ha  !  Ha  ! 


5.  Let  all  those  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  Thee 
Who  seek  after  Thee. 

And  let  them  at  all  times  say  :  Praised  be 
the  Lord — 

They  who  delight  in  Thy  saving  help. 


6.  Ego  vero  egenus,  et  pau¬ 
per  sum  :  Deus  adjuva  me. 

Adjutor  meus,  et  liberator 
meus  es  tu  :  Domine  ne  moreris. 


6.  But  I  am  a  beggar  and  wretched. 
Help  me,  O  God  ! 

Thou  art  my  Helper  and  Protector. 
Tarry  not,  O  God  I 


I.  In  rememorationem  ;  cf.  Ps.  xxxvii.  1.  The  second  half  of 
the  Vulgate  superscription,  quod  salvum,  etc.  has  nothing  correspond- 
ing  to  it  in  the  Hebrew  title  of  the  psalm.  Its  presence  in  the  Vulgate 
seems  to  be  due  to  the  fact  that  in  the  Septuagint  translation  the 
first  two  words  of  the  Hebrew  psalm  were  taken  as  part  of  the  title. 
These  first  two  words  do  not  make  a  complete  phrase  in  the  Hebrew — 

278 


A  CRY  FOR  HELP  AGAINST  ENEMIES  279 


though  in  the  parallelism  they  ought  to  do  so.  Reading  the  name 
Yahweh  instead  of  'Elohim  as  the  first  word  of  the  psalm  proper 
and  connecting  the  first  two  words  of  the  psalm  with  the  last  word 
of  the  Hebrew  superscription,  the  Greek  translators  got  the  title, 
€15  dva/jLvrjcriv,  eis  ro  croxrat  fie  Kvpiov.  This  the  Latin  reproduces  as, 
in  rememorationem  quod  salvum  fecerit  eum  Dominus. 

Deus  in  adjutorium  meum  intende  begins  the  psalm  proper  in  the 
Septuagint,  and  Domine  ad  adjuvandum  me  festina  has  nothing  corre- 
sponding  to  it  in  the  Greek.  Thus  the  Septuagint  translators  read 
Yahweh  and  'Elohim  where  the  Massoretic  text  has  'Elohim  and 
Yahweh  (verse  2).  The  Vulgate  with  its  Domine  ad  adjuvandum  me 
festina  holds  a  middle  place  between  the  Greek  and  Hebrew.  As 
compared  with  the  Septuagint  the  Vulgate  here  inserts  an  additional 
phrase.  We  should  get  a  reliable  beginning  of  the  psalm  by 
completing  verse  2  of  the  Massoretic  text  from  Ps.  xxxix.  14  : 

Be  pleased,  O  Yahweh,  to  rescue  me  ! 

Hasten,  O  Yahweh,  to  help  me  ! 

or,  according  to  the  Vulgate  of  Ps.  xxxix.  14  : 

Complaceat  tibi  Domine  ut  eruas  me  ; 

Domine  ad  adjuvandum  me  respice  ! 


PSALM  LXX 

A  PRAYER  FOR  HELP 

*-)*;•;  fV  vj  r  i  .  \  }OH  ;\l  \\ <  \ .  y\  \W  \  ■,  Vt\  \y  LV.  )¥\  *  i^C)Vl  J,i/T  fi  Jjffj  3£I|.iO 

THIS  psalm  has  no  superscription  in  the  Hebrew.  The  Septua- 
gint  and  the  Vulgate  describe  it  as  ‘  a  psalm  of  David,  and 
of  the  sons  of  Jonadab  and  of  the  earliest  (or  ‘  former  ') 
exiles/  Though  the  precise  meaning  of  this  superscription 
is  not  ciear,  we  learn  from  it  at  least  that  an  ancient  tradition  regarded 
the  psalm  rather  as  a  national  than  as  an  individua  1  poem.  The 
plural  pronoun  in  the  correct  Hebrew  text  of  verse  20  supports  the 
communal  interpretation  of  the  psalm.  Israel  has  been  wonderfully 
guarded  by  God  throughout  her  past  history ;  surely  now,  when  the 
nation  has  grown  old,  God  will  not  abandon  it.  The  overthrow  of 
IsraePs  political  life  by  the  Chaldeans,  and  the  wretchedness  of  her 
lot  in  exile  ha  ve  made  her,  for  the  moment,  a  portent — a  terrifying 
example,  to  the  nations.  Her  enemies  are  convinced  that  she  has 
fallen  for  ever.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all,  she  will  not  cease  to  praise  the 
Lord  and  to  ask  His  help,  confident  that  He  will  at  length  lead  her 
forth  to  freedom  and  peace.  For  this  grace  of  rescue  which  the  nation 
so  confidently  expects,  Israel  promises  to  God  a  constant  Service  of 
praising  and  glorifying  song.  Those  for  whom  Israel  is  now  a  by- 
word  and  a  laughing-stock,  and  who  rejoice  in  her  misfortunes  will 
themselves  be  brought  to  shame  and  confusion  when  the  Lord  shall 
once  again  establish  the  national  life  of  His  people. 

The  references  to  *  youth/  *  old  age  ’  and  ‘  grey  hairs  '  might 
seem,  perhaps,  to  suggest,  as  more  natural,  an  individual  interpreta¬ 
tion  of  this  psalm.  Yet  in  several  Old  Testament  contexts  the  life 
of  the  Israelite  nation  is  described  as  if  it  were  the  life  of  an  individual 
— for  instance,  in  Psalm  cxxviii  1,  2  ;  Osee  xi.  1  ;  vii.  9  ;  Is.  xlvi.  3/., 
etc.  The  suggestion  of  the  national  meaning  of  the  psalm  which  is 
conveyed  by  the  Greek  and  Vulgate  superscriptions  may  therefore 
be  accepted. 

It  will  be  noted  that  this  psalm  contains  echoes  of  many  other 
psalms.  Thus,  verses  1-3  are  practically  identical  with  Ps.  xxx.  2-4  ; 
verse  6  recalls  xxi.  10-11  ;  verse  13  is  an  adaptation  of  Ps.  xxxiv.  4,  26, 
and  verse  12  is  an  echo  of  Ps.  xxxix.  13.  It  is  possible  that  the  pre- 
sence  in  the  psalm  of  so  many  echoes  or  quotations  of  other  psalms 
occasioned  the  ascription  of  the  whole  psalm  to  David.  It  would  be 
a  mistake,  however,  to  regard  this  psalm  as  nothing  more  than  a 
mosaic  of  quotations  from  Davidic  psalms.  It  is  a  distinet  literary 

280 


A  PRAYER  FOR  HELP 


281 

unit,  and  it  is  full  of  deep  feeling,  both  patriotic  and  religious.  Some 
features  of  the  poem  could  be  more  easily  understood  in  reference  to 
the  post-exilic  than  to  the  exilic  period,  and  it  would  be  convenient, 
if  it  were  possible,  to  suppose  that,  though  the  psalm  was  composed 
during  the  Exile,  it  was  somewhat  modified  for  use  in  the  liturgy  of 
the  post-exilic  period. 


i.  Psalmus  David,  Filiorum  x. 
Jonadab  et  priorum  captivorum. 

In  te  Domine  speravi,  non 
confundar  in  aeternum  : 

2.  In  justitia  tua  libera  me,  2. 
et  eripe  me. 

Inclina  ad  me  aurem  tuam, 
et  salva  me. 

3.  Esto  mihi  in  Deum  prote-  3. 
ctorem,  et  in  locum  munitum  : 

ut  salvum  me  facias. 

Quoniam  firmamentum  me¬ 
um,  et  refugium  meum  es  tu. 


4.  Deus  meus,  eripe  me  de  4. 
manu  peccatoris,  et  de  manu 
contra  legem  agentis  et  iniqui  : 

1  f  **  .  •  r*r  r  j 

5.  Quoniam  tu  es  patientia  5. 
mea  Domine  :  Domine  spes  mea 

a  juventute  mea. 

6.  In  te  confirmatus  sum  ex  6. 
utero  :  de  ventre  matris  meae 

tu  es  protector  meus. 

In  te  cantatio  mea  semper  : 


7.  Tamquam  prodigium  fa-  7. 

ctus  sum  multis  :  et  tu  adjutor 
fortis. 

8.  Repleatur  os  meum  laude,  8. 

ut  cantem  gloriam  tuam  :  tota 

die  magnitudinem  tuam. 

9.  Ne  projicias  me  in  tempore  9. 
senectutis  :  cum  defecerit  virtus 
mea,  ne  derelinquas  me. 

10.  Quia  dixerunt  inimici  mei  10. 
mihi  :  et  qui  custodiebant  ani¬ 
mam  meam,  consilium  fecerunt 

in  unum. 

11.  Dicentes  :  Deus  dereliquit  11. 
eum,  persequimini,  et  compre¬ 
hendite  eum  :  quia  non  est  qui 
eripiat. 

12.  Deus  ne  elongeris  a  me  :  12. 

Deus  meus  in  auxilium  meum 
respice. 


A  Davidic  psalm  of  the  Sons  of  Jonadab, 
and  of  the  earliest  exiles. 


In  Thee,  O  Lord,  do  I  trust ; 

Let  me  never  be  put  to  shame  ! 

In  Thy  justice  rescue  me  and  set  me  free  1 
Bend  to  me  Thine  ear,  and  save  me  ! 


Be  to  me  a  protecting  God  and  a  strong- 
hold, 

That  Thou  mayest  keep  me  safe. 

For  Thou  art  my  stay,  and  place  of 
refuge. 


My  God,  set  me  free  from  the  power  of 
the  sinner, 

And  from  the  power  of  the  transgressor, 
and  the  godless  ; 

For  Thou  art  my  hope,  O  Lord, 

My  hope,  O  Lord,  from  my  youth. 

3 3  ;  om  asiiiioiviv  r  uvr/Viioo  io 

On  Thee  I  have  been  stayed  since  the 
womb  ; 

Since  the  womb  of  my  mother  Thou 
hast  been  my  protector, 

Unto  Thee  is  my  song  of  praise  at  ali 
times. 


A  portent  I  am  unto  many  ; 

But  Thou  art  a  strong  helper. 

Let  my  mouth  be  full  of  praise, 

That  I  may  sing  Thy  glory. 

And,  all  the  day,  Thy  greatness  ! 

Cast  me  not  off  in  the  time  of  old  age  ; 
When  my  strength  faileth,  abandon 
me  not ! 

For  my  foes  speak  against  me  ; 

And  they  who  seek  my  life  take 
counsel  together. 

They  say  :  ‘  God  hath  abandoned  him  ; 
Pursue  and  seize  him,  for  there  is  none 
to  help  [him].’ 


O  God,  be  not  afar  off  from  me  ! 

My  God,  give  thought  to  my  help  ! 


282 


THE  PSALMS 


13.  Confundantur,  et  defici-  13 
ant  detrahentes  animae  meae : 
operiantur  confusione,  et  pudore 
qui  quaerunt  mala  mihi. 

14.  Ego  autem  semper  spera¬ 
bo  :  et  adjiciam  super  omnem 
laudem  tuam. 

15.  Os  meum  annuntiabit  ju¬ 
stitiam  tuam  :  tota  die  salutare 
tuum. 

Quoniam  non  cognovi  littera¬ 
turam, 

16.  Introibo  in  potentias  Do¬ 
mini  :  Domine  memorabor  ju¬ 
stitiae  tuae  solius. 

17.  Deus  docuisti  me  a  juven¬ 
tute  mea  :  et  usque  nunc  pro¬ 
nuntiabo  mirabilia  tua. 

18.  Et  usque  in  senectam  et 
senium  Deus,  ne  derelinquas  me, 

Donec  annuntiem  brachium 
tuum  generationi  omni,  quae 
ventura  est : 

19.  Potentiam  tuam,  et  justi¬ 
tiam  tuam  Deus  usque  in  altissi- 
ma.  quae  fecisti  magnalia  :  Deus 
quis  similis  tibi  ? 

20.  Quantas  ostendisti  mihi 
tribulationes  multas  et  malas  : 
et  conversus  vivicfiasti  me  :  et 
de  abyssis  terrae  iterum  re¬ 
duxisti  me  : 

21.  Multiplicasti  magnificen¬ 
tiam  tuam  :  et  conversus  con¬ 
solatus  es  me. 


Let  them  be  confounded  and  brought  to 
naught 

Who  slander  my  soul. 

Let  them  be  covered  with  shame  and 
disgrace 

Who  seek  my  misfortune. 

14.  But  I  will  hope  on  for  ever, 

And  will  ever  add  to  Thy  praise. 

15.  My  tongue  shall  proclaim  Thy  justice. 

And  ali  day  long,  Thy  saving-help. 

For  I  am  not  skilled  to  recount  (them). 


16.  I  will  enter  in  to  (the  place  of)  the  Lord's 

power  ; 

Thy  justice  alone,  O  Lord,  I  shall 
celebrate. 

17.  From  the  days  of  my  youth,  Thou  hast 

taught  me,  O  God  ! 

And  even  until  now  do  I  proclaim  Thy 
wonders. 

18.  Even  unto  old  age  and  grey  hairs, 

Abandon  me  not,  O  God, 

Until  I  announce  Thy  power 

To  every  generation  that  shall  come — 

19.  Thy  strength  and  Thy  justice,  O  God, 

That  reach  even  unto  heaven  ! 

The  wonders  Thou  hast  done,  O  God  ! 
Who  is  like  unto  Thee  ? 

20.  What  aftlictions  Thou  hast  made  me  to 

see — 

Many  and  grievous  ! 

Yet  Thou  wilt  again  restore  me. 

And  from  the  depths  of  earth  again 
bring  me  forth 

21.  Thy  greatness  Thou  wilt  show  forth 

abundantly  ; 

And  Thou  wilt  comfort  me  once  again  ; 


22.  Nam  et  ego  confitebor  22. 

tibi  in  vasis  psalmi  veritatem 
tuam :  Deus  psallam  tibi  in 
cithara,  sanctus  Israel. 

23.  Exsultabunt  labia  mea  23. 

cum  cantavero  tibi :  et  anima 
mea,  quam  redemisti. 

24.  Sed  et  lingua  mea  tota  24. 
die  meditabitur  justitiam  tuam  : 
cum  confusi  et  reveriti  fuerint, 

qui  quaerunt  mala  mihi. 


And  with  the  harp  I  will  praise  Thee 
For  Thy  faithfulness,  O  God  ; 

And  with  the  lyre  I  will  hymn  to  Thee, 
Thou  Holy  One  of  Israel ! 

My  lips  will  shout  for  joy  when  I  sing  to 
Thee, 

And  my  soul,  too,  which  Thou  hast 
rescued. 

Yes  !  and  my  tongue  shall  speak  the 
live-long  day 
Of  Thy  righteousness, 

When  they  have  been  overwhelmed  with 
shame 

Who  seek  my  misfortune. 


1-3.  Psalmus  David,  etc.  Possibly  this  superscription  ought  to 
be  translated  :  ‘  A  Davidic  psalm  of  the  Sons  of  Jonadab,  and  of  the 
earliest  exiles  ' ;  the  meaning  of  this  strange  title  would  be  that  the 


A  PRAYER  FOR  HELP 


283 


psalm  was  put  together,  by  those  named,  from  selections  of  Davidic 
poetry  (taken,  in  particular  from  Ps.  xxi,  xxx,  xxxiv,  xxxix).  The 
superscription  has  also  been  understood  as  implying  that,  though 
David  was  the  author  of  the  entire  poem  as  it  stands,  yet  it  was 
the  sons  of  Jonadab  and  the  exiles  who  first  made  it  known  and 
popular.  There  is  no  superscription  in  the  Massoretic  text.  The 
‘  Sons  of  Jonadab  *  are,  apparentlv,  the  Rechabites  who  stand  out  so 
prominently  and  honourably  in  the  35th  chapter  of  Jeremias.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  wording  of  the  psalm,  as  far  as  one  can  see,  that  might 
have  served  to  connect  it  with  the  Rechabites.  Possibly  the  dignity 
and  steadfastness  of  the  Rechabites  whom  Jeremias  lauds,  were 
associated  somehow  by  an  ancient  scribe  with  the  spirit  which  finds 
expression  in  this  psalm  ;  the  Judean  Exiles,  stoutly  loyal  to  their 
God,  and  longing  for  the  restoration  of  Sion,  might  be  taken,  in  a 
sense,  as  true  sons  of  Jonadab. 

Verses  16-3  are  almost  identical  with  Ps.  xxx.  2-4  .  To  Deum 
protectorem  of  verse  3  corresponds  in  the  Massoretic  text  sur  ma‘on, 

*  rock  of  dwelling  ’  ;  the  Septuagint  read  in  their  Hebrew  text,  as  in 
Ps.  xxx.  3  sur  ma(oz.  The  Septuagint  avoids,  as  a  rule,  epithets  of 
God  like  ‘  rock/  ‘  fortress/  etc.,  and  prefers  to  use  instead  the  name 
of  God  itself.  Cf.  Ps.  lxi.  3,  8. 

In  locum  munitum  is  quite  different  from  the  Massoretic  text, 
and  we  have  here  a  ciear  instance  in  which  the  traditional  Hebrew 
text  has  undergone  corruption.  In  Ps.  xxx.  4  the  Massoretic  text 
has,  in  the  parallel  passage,  lebheth  mesudoth  (in  domum  munitam) 
and  that  is,  undoubtedly,  the  correct  Hebrew  text  here  also.  By  a 
strange  fortune  the  consonantal  text  which  would  rightly  have  been 
read  here  as  lebheth  me$udoth  appears  so  corrupted  in  the  Massoretic 
text  as  to  read  :  labho'  tamid  siwwitha,  which  would  mean,  ‘  to  come 
always,  Thou  hast  given  command/  ‘  To  come  always  *  is  usually 
read  with  the  preceding  :  ‘  God  is  a  rock  of  defence,  to  which  one 
may  always  have  recourse  ’  ;  ‘  Thou  hast  given  a  command  ’  would 
give  sense  when  read  with  the  immediately  following  clause  :  ‘  Thou 
hast  given  a  command  to  save  me/  It  is  obvious  that  the  Vulgate 
gives  the  natural  meaning  of  the  verse. 

For  firmamentum  and  refugium  the  Hebrew  has  ‘  rock  ’  and 

*  fortress.’ 

4.  For  the  exiles  peccator,  contra  legem  agens,  and  iniquus  would 
be  designations  of  the  Babylonians.  The  tendency  of  the  Greek 
translators  is  to  identify  ali  forms  of  sin  with  transgressions  against 
the  Jewish  ‘  Law  ’  ;  hence  the  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  mCiawwel 
(‘  evil-doer  ’)  by  Trapav6m»v  (contra  legem  agens). 

5.  Patientia,  ‘  hope  ’  (Hebrew,  tikwah)  :  for  this  use  of  patientia, 
cf.  Apoc.  xiii.  10  ;  xiv.  12  ;  the  word  implies  the  endurance  of  grief 
with  confidence  of  coming  release  from  it.  Cf.  Ps.  lxi.  6. 

6.  A  quotation  from  Ps.  xxi.  10,  11.  Confirmatus,  supported. 


284 


THE  PSALMS 


stayed  ;  the  reference  is  to  the  support  which  Israel  received  when 
she  leaned  upon  the  Lord. 

Protector  meus  supposes  a  Hebrew  text  better  than  the  Massoretic. 
The  Hebrew  ought  to  read  :  Thou  art  my  strength/  Since  the  moment 
of  her  birth  ( i.e .,  the  time  of  the  Exodus)  Israel  has  rested  all  her 
hopes  on  the  Lord.  He  has  been  the  sole  source  of  her  strength,  the 
chief  theme  of  her  song. 

7.  Prodigium  :  Jerome  has  expressed  the  sense  better  in  his  trans- 
lation  :  Quasi  portentum  factus  sum  multis.  Israel  is  a  ‘  sign  '  to  the 
nations  because  of  the  misfortunes  which  she  has  brought  on  herself 
by  her  sins  ;  she  is  marked  off  from  other  peoples  by  the  intensity 
of  her  sorrows  :  she  stands  forth  as  a  special  object  of  God’s  wrath. 
And  vet  she  refuses  to  abandon  her  hope  of  restoration.  In  this, 
too,  she  is  a  ‘  portent  *  to  the  peoples.  (C/.  Deut.  xxviii.  46  ;  Is.  lii.  14. 
In  Isaias  lii  the  ‘Servant  of  Yahweh'  appears,  like  the  Israel  of  our 
psalm,  as  a  sign  to  the  peoples — partly  because  of  his  lowliness,  and 
partly  because  of  his  unexpected  rise  to  greatness.  The  ‘  Servant  ' 
as  the  Messias,  was  to  resume  in  Himself  the  chief  phases  of  IsraeLs 
life.  This,  perhaps,  is  the  reason  for  inweaving  the  poems  of  the 
'  Servant  ’  in  Isaias  with  a  context  which  deals  with  the  fortunes  of 
the  Israelite  nation.) 

8.  In  spite  of  her  misfortunes  Israel  will  yet  again  sing  the  glories 
of  the  Lord.  The  singing  which  is  here  imagined  is  such  Service  of 
thanksgiving  as  will  follow  the  restoration  of  the  nation.  Not  in 
Babylon,  but  in  Jerusalem,  it  would  take  place,  for  how  could  the 
exiles  sing  ‘  Songs  of  Sion  '  in  a  foreign  land  ? 

Tota  die^per  singulos  dies. 

9.  As  old  age  is  the  time  of  weakness,  so  IsraeLs  political  disasters 
are  the  tokens  of  her  great  age  as  a  nation.  Yet  from  the  time  of 
Israels  settlement  in  Palestine  (possibly  circa  1400  B.c.)  until  the 
return  from  Exile  (538  b.c.)  not  a  thousand  years  had  elapsed. 

With  this  verse  (and  with  verse  6)  should  be  compared  Isaias 
xlvi.  3-4  : 

Hearken  unto  me,  O  House  of  Jacob, 

And  all  the  remnant  of  the  House  of  Israel, 

Who  have  been  borne  as  a  load  from  the  birth, 

Who  have  been  carried  from  the  womb  ; 

Even  to  old  age  I  am  the  same  ; 

Even  unto  grey  hairs  I  will  give  support  ; 

I  have  taken  up  the  burden,  and  I  will  stili  carry  it. 

10.  Dixerunt  mihi,  literally,  according  to  Hebrew,  *  say  of  me/ 
Since  their  saying  is  not  immediatelv  given,  it  is  likely  that  the  Hebrew 
needs  emenda tion  here.  By  a  slight  change  (reading  * a/bhu  instead 
of  ’ameru)  we  get  the  good  parallelism  : 

My  enemies  lay  an  ambush  for  me  ;  1 

And  they  who  seek  my  life  take  counsel  together. 


A  PRAYER  FOR  HELP  285 

Custodire  animam,  in  hostile  sense,  ‘  seek  to  take  my  life/  '  lie 
in  wait  to  slay  me.’  Cf.  Ps.  lviii.  1. 

11.  They  believe  that  they  may  safely  fall  upon  their  victim, 
Israel  is  so  weakened  that  she  seems  to  be  an  easy  prey  for  all  who 
wish  to  attack  her.  Yahweh,  who  in  the  past  so  mightily  guided 
her,  has  now,  her  enemies  think,  abandoned  her. 

12.  An  echo  of  Ps.  xxi.  12;  xxxv.  22;  xxxvii.  22;  xxxix  14; 
lxix.  2. 

13.  Cf.  Ps.  xxxiv.  26. 

14.  Adjiciam  super,  ‘  add  to.’  Laus  tua  is  '  the  song  of  Thy  praise/ 

15.  Salutare  is  equi  valent  in  the  parallelism  to  justitia.  God 
displays  His  justice  when  He  rescues  His  servants  from  perii. 

16.  In  the  Massoretic  text  the  phrase  quoniam  .  .  .  litteraturam 
goes  naturally  with  the  preceding.  The  sense  of  the  Hebrew  is, 
probably  :  ‘  For  I  know  not  the  number  [of  them]/  i. e.  God’s  deeds 
of  justice  and  rescue  are  so  many  that  the  psalmist  cannot  reckon 
them  up.  The  Hebrew  word  translated  ‘  number  ’  (sephoroth)  occurs 
nowhere  else  in  the  Massoretic  text.  The  Septuagint  translators 
read  sepharoth  the  plural  of  siphrah,  ‘  book/  and  rendered  (according 
to  the  reading  of  several  codices)  ovk  eyvwv  ypapTzareias-  This 
would  mean  in  the  context,  ‘  I  am  not  skilled  in  the  composition  of 
books,  and  the  story  of  God’s  deeds  of  justice  would  fili  volumes/ 
The  Vatican  Codex  reads  here  instead  of  ypa/z/xareiag,  7rpay/*aT€iag 
— which  means  ‘  historical  narration/  so  that,  in  the  Vatican  text 
the  psalmist  declares  his  inability  to  write  the  full  history  of  Gods 
gracious  dealings  with  Israel.  The  Vulgate  non  cognovi  litteraturam 
may  be  regarded  as  the  equivalent  of  either  of  the  Greek  readings. 
(The  Psalterium  Romanum  has  negotiationes  representing  Trpay/zareiag). 
There  is  no  linguistic  difficulty  in  connecting  in  the  Vulgate,  quoniam 
non  cognovi  litteraturam  with  the  preceding  in  the  sense  :  'my  mouth 
shall  proclaim  Thy  justice,  and  all  day  long  Thy  salvation,  for  I  cannot 
write  a  narrative  of  them  *  ;  since  he  cannot  write  the  frstory  of 
God’s  favours  he  will  go  on  orally  proclaiming  them  for  e  ver.  {Scrip¬ 
turam  would  ha  ve  been,  probably,  a  bettcr  word  in  the  Vulgate  than 
'litteraturam,  were  it  not  for  its  specific  meaning  of  ‘  Sacred  Scripture/) 

16.  Introibo  in  potentias  Domini  :  this  is  the  beginning  of  a  new 
stat  ement.  The  corresponding  Hebrew  does  not  mean  ‘  entering 
into  the  powers  of  the  Lord/  but  *  entering  with  the  powers  of  the 
Lord/  The  psalmist  will  come  before  the  Lord,  not  empty-handed, 
but  bringing  with  him  the  record  of  God’s  wondrous  deeds  of  love 
and  mercy  to  Israel  in  the  past.  This  record  of  Gods  deeds  (which, 
of  course,  cannot  be  complete)  will  compel  God,  as  it  were,  to  do 
further  deeds  of  wondrous  favour  for  Israel  in  her  present  misfortune. 

Memorabor  justitia  tua  solius  :  the  justitia  is,  as  in  verse  15,  the 
justice  with  which  God  helps  and  rescues  His  people.  This  the 
psalmist  will  describe  in  praising  song  [memorari).  The  ‘  coming 


286 


THE  PSALMS 


with  the  power  (= deeds  of  power)  ’  is  the  same  as  ‘  the  making  memory 
of  deeds  of  justice/ 

Solius  :  God  alone  performs  such  deeds  of  justice  as  the  psalmist 
would  recount  in  song  :  the  Lord  alone  is  just.  C/.  Ps.  cxlii.  2  :  Non 
justificabitur  in  conspectu  tuo  omnis  vivens. 

In  the  translation  above  potentias  Domini  is  rendered  :  ‘  the 

place  of  the  Lord’s  power/  i. e.  the  Temple.  It  is  probably  the  only 
reasonable  way  of  translating  the  Vulgate  text  as  it  stands.  The 
resulting  sense  is  ciear  enough  :  ‘  I  will  enter  the  Temple  and  sing 
praise  of  Thy  justice/  Though  the  precise  meaning  of  the  Massoretic 
text  is  not  quite  certain  it  ought  to  get  the  preference  here.  The 
exact  Latin  equivalent  would  be,  Introibo  cum  potentiis  Domini.* 1 

17.  Since  the  beginning  of  Israehs  national  life  at  the  Exodus, 
God  has  taught  her  to  praise  Him,  for  He  has  ever  been  gracious  and 
merciful  with  His  people.  Even  ‘  until  now  '  ( i.e .  the  period  of  the 
Exile)  Israel  has  had  reason  to  praise  and  thank  Him.  The  mirabilia 
are  the  deeds  of  help  by  which  the  Lord  showed  His  presence  in  the 
midst  of  Israel. 

18.  Usque  in  senectam  et  senium  passes  beyond  the  usque  nunc 
(the  beginning  of  exile)  to  the  exilic  and  early  post-exilic  days.  Israel 
has  lived  through  the  years  of  her  strength,  and  only  the  weakness  of 
old  age  remains  for  her.  Yet  even  now  in  her  weakness  she  trusts 
that  the  Lord  will  stili  give  her  reason  to  praise  and  thank  Him, 
so  that  she  may  teli  of  His  might  to  (everv)  generation  that  shall 
arise.  Since  omni  generationi  suggests  the  perpetuity  of  Israel, 
modern  commentators  usually  omit  (with  the  Syriae  Psalter)  the 
kol  (omni)  of  the  Massoretic  text.  Not  to  every  coming  generation, 
but  to  the  next  generation  the  psalmist  hopes  to  be  able  to  announce 
the  Lord’s  favour  towards  his  own  generation.  Brachium ,  *  power/ 
‘  strength/ 

19.  The  Vulgate  here  faithfully  reproduces  the  Septuagint.  Po¬ 
tentiam  and  justitiam  are  like  brachium  objects  of  annuntiem.  Usque 
in  ditissima  is  to  be  taken  as  a  description  of  ‘  power  '  and  ‘  justice  ' 
— the  power  and  justice  that  reach  even  unto  heaven.  Quce  fecisti 
magnalia  is  appositional  to  might  and  power  and  justice — the  whole 
record  of  wondrous  things  which  the  Lord  has  done  for  His  people. 

The  Massoretic  text  begins  a  new  sentence  with  verse  19  : 

And  Thy  justice,  O  God,  reaches  to  the  heavens — 

Thou  who  hast  done  great  things — 

O  God,  who  is  like  unto  Thee  ? 


1  Since  the  phrase  :  ‘  I  will  come  with  the  powers  ’  is  unusual  in  Hebrew, 
Schlogl  ( Psalmen  ;  in  loc.)  suggests  the  reading  'abbia\  ‘  I  will  proclaim,’  instead 
of  ’abhoy  be  (‘  I  will  come  with  ')•  This  would  give  the  perfect  parallelism  : 

I  will  proclaim  Thy  power  : 

I  will  make  memory  pi  Thy  justice. 


A  PRAYER  FOR  HELP 


287 


This  text,  however,  does  not  run  smoothly  ;  and  though  the  Hebrew 
text  underlying  the  Septuagint  (and,  therefore,  the  Vulgate)  was 
identical  with  the  Massoretic  text,  it  is  probable  that  it  had  under- 
gone  some  corruption  before  the  Greek  version  was  made.  The 
Vulgate  differs  here  from  the  traditional  Hebrew  mainly  because  the 
Greek  translators  read  some  nouns  as  accusatives  which  the  Massoretic 
text  takes  as  nominati ves.  The  Hebrew  would  be  represented,  as 
the  traditional  text  has  it,  by  : 

Justitia  'tua  Deus  usque  in  altissima, 

Qui  jecisti  magnalia. 

Deus  quis  similis  tibi  ? 

20.  Ostendisti  mihi  ;  the  written  (and  better)  Hebrew  text  reads 
here  :  '  Thou  hast  made  us  to  see  ’ — indicating  the  communal  character 
of  the  psalm.  For  vivificasti  me  we  ought  to  read  also,  according  to 
the  better  Hebrew  text,  vivificasti  nos. 

Conversus,  etc.,  is  a  verbally  literal  reproduction  of  a  Hebrew 
idiom.  In  Hebrew  the  verb  shubh  (‘  to  return  ')  is  often  used  idio- 
matically  with  another  verb  to  express  repetition  of  the  action  denoted 
by  the  other  verb.  The  Hebrew  here  means  :  ‘  Thou  wilt  again 
restore  us/  Cf.  Ps.  lxxxiv.  7  ;  Conversus  vivificabis  nos  ;  ciii.  9  ; 
Neque  convertentur  operire  terram  ;  lxxvii.  41,  Et  conversi  sunt  et  tenta- 
verunt  Deum .  The  same  idiomatic  use  of  shubh  appears  in  the  Hebrew 
text  of  the  second  half  of  verse  20,  and  is  correctly  rendered  in  the 
Vulgate  by  iterum. 

The  thought  of  the  verse  is,  that,  in  spite  of  the  sorrows  which 
God  has  made  Israel  to  endure,  He  will  once  more  restore  her  to  peace 
and  prosperity.  Even  though  she  is  almost  overwhelmed  by  the 
floods  of  the  netherworld  (i. e.  the  abyssi  terree,  the  deep  beneath  the 
earth),  God  will  lead  her  forth  therefrom.  This  rescue  from  the  deep 
is  symbolical  of  rescue  from  danger  of  death  {cf.  Ezech.  xxxvii.  13). 

21.  A  description  of  the  graciousness  which  the  Lord  will  show 
once  more  to  an  Israel  re-established.  Conversus  consolatus  es  is 
the  same  sort  of  idiom  as  conversus  vivificasti  of  verse  20. 1 

22.  Nam :  the  Hebrew  would  be  better  represented  by  autem. 

Confitebor,  praise. 

In  vasis  psalmi  is  intended  to  be  a  literal  translation  of  the  Hebrew 
bikhfli  nebhel,  *  with  a  harp/  Vasa  translates  keli,  a  word  of  many 
meanings,  of  which  vas  is  one.  Psalterium  would  translate  nebhel 
(harp,  or  lute)  much  more  accurately  than  does  psalmus,  which  really 
means  a  song  chanted  to  the  accompaniment  of  some  instrument. 
Confitebor  .  ...  in  psalterio  would  be  the  correct  rendering  of  the 
Hebrew  text.  The  reference  is  to  praising  song  accompanied  on  the 


1  The  Massoretic  tissobh  tenahameni  ought  to  be  emended  into  tashubk 
tenahameni.) 


288 


THE  PSALMS 


harp  or  lute.  Psallam  tibi  in  cithara,  f  I  will  hymn  Thee  on  the  lyre  ' 
is  an  exact  parallel. 

Sanctus  Israel  is  a  frequent  designation  of  the  Lord  in  the  Book  of 
Isaias. 

24.  C/.  Ps.  xxxiv.  28  :  Et  lingua  mea  meditabitur  justitiam  tuam, 
tota  die  laudem  tuam .  Meditari  means  here,  apparently,  more  than 
the  soft  murmur  of  one  who  recites  something  gently  for  himself, 
as  in  Ps.  i.  2  :  it  suggests  ciear  and  definite  pronouncement  (such  as 
is  promised  in  verse  15).  Cum  confusi,  etc.,  implies  the  fulfilment 
of  the  prayer  in  verse  13. 


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PSALM  LXXI 

I 

THE  KING  OF  PEACE 

THE  Hebrew  superscription  of  this  psalm  connects  it  with 
Solomon  in  precisely  the  same  way  in  which  other  psalms 
are  connected  by  their  tities  with  David.  Yet  it  is  not 
likely  that  it  was  composed  by  Solomon,  and  the  Greek 
translators,  apparently,  realising  this,  took  the  Hebrew  title  as 
meaning  ‘  Unto  Solomon/  or  '  Concerning  Solomon/  rather  than, 
‘  By  Solomon  ’  ;  and  the  Vulgate  with  its  In  Salomonem  follows  the 
Greek.  The  general  reference  of  the  psalm  to  Solomon  might  be 
justified  on  the  ground  that  the  description  of  Solomon’s  greatness, 
wealth,  and  renown  in  the  third  book  of  Kings  forms  a  sort  of  basis, 
or  starting-point  for  the  description  of  the  government  and  kingdom 
of  the  king  whose  rule  is  the  theme  of  the  psalm.  But  that  king, 
though  he  is  described  in  a  way  which  recalls  the  splendour  of  Solomon, 
is  not  Solomon  himself,  but  a  Ruler  greater  and  more  splendid  than 
any  king  of  Israel,  or  indeed  any  human  king,  could  be.  The  psalm 
depicts  the  rule  of  an  ideal  King  of  Peace.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  the  name  Solomon  (Hebrew,  Shflomoh)  is  derived  from  a  word 
meaning  ‘  peace  ’  ( shalom )  ;  and  thus  one  might  take  the  title  of  the 
psalm  as  meaning  ‘  Unto  the  Man  of  Peace/  Just  as  the  Messias 
was  to  be  the  ‘  Son  of  David/  so  the  man  of  Peace  is  depicted  for  us 
here  with  the  traits  of  David  s  son  and  successor  Solomon  ;  but  the 
Solomon  of  the  psalm  is  a  Solomon  idealised  beyond  the  limits  of 
human  royalty.  In  the  Wedding  Ode,  Psalm  xliv,  the  psalmist  passes 
beyond  the  human  King  of  Israel  to  the  Messianic  King  ;  here,  also, 
a  Ruler  is  described  in  whom  human  features  are  not  altogether 
wanting,  but  whose  rule  and  dominion  are  greater  than  anything 
of  earth.  It  is  not  Solomon  or  any  other  actual  king  of  Israel  whose 
reign  is  here  described  :  it  is  the  Ideal  King,  the  Messias.  Note 
particularly  verses  5,  6,  8-1 1,  17.  The  human  aspect  of  the  King  is 
suggested  by  the  psalmi  st 's  prayer  for  him  that  he  may  receive  from 
God  a  spirit  of  perfect  justice  (verse  2),  and  by  the  promise  that  his 
subjects  will  unite  in  prayer  for  him  (verse  17)  :  it  is  suggested  per- 
haps  also  in  general  by  the  psalmist ’s  tendency  to  describe  the  kingdom 
of  the  Man  of  Peace  as  a  sort  of  enlarged  Solomonic  empire  (especially 
in  verses  8-1 1).  That  human  aspects  of  the  Messias  appear  in  this, 
and  in  other  psalms,  is,  of  course,  to  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the 
glory  and  greatness  of  the  Messianic  King  could  not  well  be  forecasted 

289 


19 


290 


THE  PSALMS 


for  the  Hebrews  otherwise  than  as  an  intensified  glory  and  greatness 
of  such  great  kings  as  David  and  Solomon. 

The  sequence  of  thought  in  the  psalm  is  ciear.  Justice  and  peace 
will  be  the  fairest  fmits  of  the  Messianic  reign  :  they  will  flourish  like 
the  corn  on  the  mountains  and  hilis  of  Palestine  (verses  2-4)  :  The 
reign  of  the  Messias  will  be  unending  :  and  the  Messianic  King  him- 
self  will  be  to  his  people  like  rain  to  the  soil ;  with  the  coming  of 
the  ‘  Shoot  of  righteousness  ’  justice  and  peace  must  abound  (5-7). 
The  rule  of  the  King  will  be  universal ;  kings  will  come  to  do  him 
honour,  and  bring  him  gifts  from  lands  the  most  remote.  As  the 
Oueen  of  Sheba  came  to  Solomon  to  hear  his  wisdom  and  behold  his 
splendour,  so  shall  kings  come  from  the  farthest  West,  from  all  the 
Mediterranean  lands,  and  from  far  off  Ethiopia  to  do  homage  to  the 
King  of  Peace  (8-1 1).  Again,  the  psalmist  describes  the  gentleness 
and  justice  of  the  Messianic  rule — for  righteousness  of  rule  is  the 
key-note  of  the  psalm  (12-14).  While  all  nations  honour  the  Messias, 
his  own  people  do  not  forget  to  do  him  special  honour,  for  he  has 
made  them  to  share  in  his  glory  and  in  his  wealth  ;  they  acclaim  his 
greatness  and  success,  and  they  offer  prayers  on  his  behalf  (15).  In 
verse  16  the  thought  of  verse  3  is  expanded.  Fertility  of  soul  is  a 
token  of  God's  blessing  ;  hence  in  the  Messianic  reign  the  hilis  will  be 
covered  with  waving  fields  of  corn.  The  City  of  the  King  will  be 
blessed  with  citizens  as  numerous  as  the  blades  of  grass  that  grow 
throughout  the  land.  Verse  17  associat.es  the  ideal  King  with  the 
Messianic  blessings  promised  to  Abraham’s  seed  (Gen.  xii.  3  ;  xviii.  18  ; 
xxviii.  14).  All  peoples  and  tribes  will  seek  to  share  in  the  blessedness 
of  the  Messianic  King.  Cf.  Gen.  xlix.  10. 

Verses  18-19  are  a  doxology  not  belonging  to  the  original  poem, 
but  appended  to  mark  the  close  of  the  second  book  of  psalms.  For 
similar  doxologies  cf.  Ps.  xl.  14  ;  lxxxviii.  53  ;  cv.  48  ;  cl.  6.  Verse 
20  is  the  note  of  an  editor  for  whom  Ps.  1-71  was  probably  the  only 
known  collection  of  Davidic  psalms. 

It  is  not  possible  to  determine  the  precise  date  of  this  psalm. 
It  is  probable  that  a  poem  which  associates  so  closely  the  Messianic 
kingdom  with  features  of  the  kingship  in  Israel,  belongs  to  the  pre- 
exilic  period. 


1.  Psalmus,  in  Salomonem. 


1.  A  song  concerning  Solomon. 


2.  O  God,  impart  Thy  judgment  to  the 
King, 

And  Thy  justice  to  the  Son  of  the  King, 
That  he  may  judge  Thy  people  in  justice 
And  Thy  poor  in  fairness. 


2.  Deus  judicium  tuum  regi 
da  :  et  justitiam  tuam  filio 
regis  : 

Judicare  populum  tuum  in 
justitia,  et  pauperes  tuos  in 
judicio. 

3.  Suscipiant  montes  pacem  3. 
populo  :  et  colles  justitiam. 


Let  the  mountains  '  bear  ’  peace  for  the 
people, 

And  the  hilis  justice  ! 


THE  KING  OF  PEACE 


291 


4.  Judicabit  pauperes  populi,  4. 

et  salvos  faciet  filios  pauperum  : 

et  humiliabit  calumniatorem. 

5.  Et  permanebit  cum  sole,  5. 

et  ante  lunam,  in  generatioue 

et  generationem. 

6.  Descendet  sicut  pluvia  in  6. 

vellus  :  et  sicut  stillicidia  stillan¬ 
tia  super  terram. 

7.  Orietur  in  diebus  ejus  7. 

justitia,  et  abundantia  pacis  : 
donec  auferatur  luna. 

8.  Et  dominabitur  a  mari  8. 

usque  ad  mare  :  et  a  flumine 
usque  ad  terminos  orbis  terrar¬ 
um. 

9.  Coram  illo  procident  .Ethi-  9. 
opes  :  et  inimici  ejus  terram 
lingent. 

10.  Reges  Tharsis,  et  insulae  10. 
munera  offerent  :  reges  Arabum 

et  Saba  dona  adducent. 

11.  Et  adorabunt  eum  omnes  11. 
reges  terrae :  omnes  Gentes 
servient  ei  : 

12.  Quia  liberabit  pauperem  12. 
a  potente  :  et  pauperem,  cui 

non  erat  adjutor. 

13.  Parcet  pauperi  et  inopi  :  13. 

et  animas  pauperum  salvas 
faciet. 

14.  Ex  usuris  et  iniquitate  14. 
redimet  animas  eorum  :  et 
honorabile  nomen  eorum  coram 

illo. 

15.  Et  vivet,  et  dabitur  ei  de  15. 
auro  Arabiae,  et  adorabunt  de 

ipso  semper  :  tota  die  benedi¬ 
cent  ei. 

16.  Et  erit  firmamentum  in  16. 
terra  in  summis  montium,  super¬ 
extolletur  super  Libanum  fru¬ 
ctus  ejus  :  et  florebunt  de  civi¬ 
tate  sicut  fcenum  terrae. 


17.  Sit  nomen  ejus  benedi¬ 
ctum  in  saecula  :  ante  solem 
permanet  nomen  ejus. 

Et  benedicentur  in  ipso  omnes 
tribus  terrae  :  omnes  Gentes 
magnificabunt  eum. 

18.  Benedictus  Dominus  De-  18. 
us  Israel,  qui  facit  mirabilia 
solus  : 

19.  Et  benedictum  nomen 
majestatis  ejus  in  aeternum  : 


He  will  judge  the  poor  of  the  people  ; 
And  rescue  the  children  of  the  poor  ; 
He  will  humble  the  oppressor. 

He  will  abide  as  long  as  the  sun  and  moon 
From  age  to  age, 

He  will  come  down  like  rain  on  the  fleece, 
Like  the  rain-drops  that  drip  gently 
to  earth. 

Justice  will  *  bloom  forth  ’  in  his  days. 
And  abundance  of  peace,  till  the  moon 
be  no  more. 

He  will  rule  from  sea  unto  sea, 

From  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 


Before  him  the  Ethiopians  shall  bow 
down  ; 

And  his  foes  shall  lick  the  dust  : 

And  the  Kings  of  Tarsis  and  of  the  Isles 
will  bring  offerings  ; 

The  Kings  of  the  Arabs  and  Saba  will 
bring  gifts. 

All  the  kings  of  earth  will  do  him  homage  ; 

Ali  the  nations  will  serve  him. 


For  he  will  rescue  the  poor  from  the 
powerful — 

The  poor  who  hath  not  a  helper. 

He  will  pity  the  poor  and  the  needy  ; 

The  souls  of  the  poor  he  will  save. 

From  usury  and  injustice  he  will  save 
their  lives  ; 

And  in  high  honour  with  him  shall  be 
their  name. 

He  [the  poor]  will  live  and  gold  of  Arabia 
will  be  given  to  him  ; 

And  for  his  [the  King’s]  sake  prayers  will 
be  offered  ; 

Men  will  praise  him  for  ever. 

There  shall  be  ‘  corn  '  in  the  land, 

On  the  hill-tops  it  shall  wave  : 

Higher  than  Lebanon  shall  be  his  fruit ; 

And  the  city-folk  shall  flourish  like 
grass  of  the  earth. 


Blessed  be  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel, 
Who  alone  doeth  wonders  ! 


19.  May  His  glorious  Name  be  for  ever 
blessed  : 


17.  May  his  name  be  blessed  for  ever  ! 

As  long  as  the  sun  his  name  shall 
endure. 

In  him  shall  be  blessed  all  the  tribes  of 
the  earth  ; 

All  the  nations  shall  extol  him. 


292 


THE  PSALMS 


et  replebitur  majestate  ejus  And  may  the  whole  earth  be  filled  with 

omnis  terra  :  fiat,  fiat.  His  glory  ! 

Arnen  and  Arnen  ! 


20.  Defecerunt  laudes  David 
filii  esse. 


20.  Ended  are  the  songs  of  praise  of  David 
the  son  of  Jesse» 


1.  The  title  in  the  Hebrew,  lishHomoh,  ought  to  mean,  on  the 
analogy  of  the  familiar  superscription  ledawid,  ‘  by  Solomon/  Thus 
the  psalm  would  be  attributed  to  Solomon  as  author.  That  the 
preposition  le  prefixed,  as  here,  to  a  proper  name  necessarily  indicates 
authorship  is,  however,  not  certain.  The  Septuagint  rendering  of 
the  title,  eis  SaAw/xwv  shows  that  the  psalm  was  not  regarded 
as  of  Solomonic  origin  by  the  Greek  translators.  The  an  cient  editorial 
note  in  the  last  verse  of  this  psalm — '  Ended  are  the  praises  (Hebrew, 

'  prayers  ’)  of  David/  though  it  does  not  mean  that  all  the  psalms 
of  the  collection,  Ps.  i-lxxi,  are  Davidic,  would  come  strangely  from 
an  editor  who  believed  that  this  psalm  was  ascribed  to  Solomon  as 
its  author  by  the  title  lishelomoh. 

2.  Judicium  ;  God’s  method  or  spirit  of  judging,  to  which  is 
parallel  God’s  spirit  of  justice  (justitia).  The  psalmist  prays  that  the 
decisions  of  the  king  will  be  inspired  by  the  spirit  of  divine  justice. 
The  Massoretic  reading  ‘  judgments  '  is  not  so  good  as  the  Vulgate 
judicium.  ‘  King  ’  and  ‘  King  s  Son  '  are  equivalent  in  the  parallel- 
ism.  Since  the  Messias  was  to  be  the  son  of  David,  ‘  King’s  Son  '  is 
a  suitable  designation  for  Him. 

Judicare,  for  Hebrew,  ‘  he  will  judge/  The  Greek  translators 
read  ladin  (‘  in  order  to  judge  ’),  instead  of  yadin  (‘  he  will  judge  * 
or  *  let  him  judge  ’)• 

Pauperes  tuos  may  be  a  designation  of  the  whole  nation  of  Israel 
and  not  merely  of  a  portion  of  it — all  Israel  being  thus  described  as 
oppressed. 

3.  The  '  mountains  '  and  '  hilis  ’  are  Palestine  itself  as  a  mountain- 
land.  Over  the  whole  land  peace  and  justice  will  reign.  The  Hebrew 
reads  ‘  in  justice  *  in  the  second  half  of  the  verse,  implying  that  it  is 
through  the  justice  of  the  King  that  the  reign  of  peace  will  be  estab- 
lished.  The  Vulgate  translates  a  reading  SiKouoo-vvr),  but  the 
received  Greek  text  has,  like  the  Massoretic  text,  lv  SiKaioodvxi. 
Justitiam  of  the  Vulgate  is  obviously  to  be  taken  as  parallel  to  pacem, 
and  as  object  of  suscipiant :  the  mountains  will  bear  peace  and  hilis 
will  bear  justice. 

Suscipiant  renders  the  Hebrew  yis’u  (from  nasa ',  to  bear.  The 
Septuagint  has  dva\a  jSerw.  Probably  the  Vulgate  translator 
thought  of  the  verse  as  meaning — not  that  the  hilis  were  to  bear 
(or,  ‘  bring  forth  ’)  justice  and  peace,  but  that  they  were  to  receive 
justice  and  peace  as  a  gift  from  God.  Since  the  produce  of  earth  is 


THE  KING  OF  PEACE 


293 


really  God's  gift  to  eaith  the  Latin  suscipiant  sufficiently  well  repro- 
duces  the  sense  of  the  Hebrew.1  Suscipiant  (imperative  in  Greek)  is 
co-ordinate  with  justitiam  da  ;  it  is  a  petition  implying  certainty  of 
fulfilment,  and  might,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  equivalent  to  a 
future. 

For  the  fruitfulness  of  hilis  and  mountains  compare  the  £  montes 
coagulati  ’  of  Ps.  lxvii.  17.  In  Canticles  it  is  said  of  the  bride  :  ‘Thy 
head  is  like  unto  Carmel  '  (vii.  6).  When  Isaias  wishes  to  describe  a 
new  glory  which  is  given  to  the  desert  he  says  :  ‘  The  glory  of  Lebanon 
is  given  to  it,  the  majesty  of  Carmel  and  Sharon  ’  (xxxv.  2).  The 
Hebrew  nasa’  obviously  means  in  the  context  ‘  bear/  ‘  bring  forth  '  : 
it  is  used  also  in  a  similar  context  in  Ezechiel  xxxvi.  8ff.:  ‘  And  ye, 
O  mountains  of  Israel,  shall  bear  your  foliage  and  your  fruit  for  my 
people  Israel,  for  soon  will  they  return.  Now  I  will  come  to  you 
again,  and  turn  to  you,  and  ye  shall  be  tilled  and  sown.  And  I  will 
multiply  men  upon  you — even  ali  the  house  of  Israel — and  the  cities 
shall  be  inhabited,  and  the  ruins  rebuilt/  Here,  as  in  the  psalm 
passage,  the  '  hilis  ’  are  the  whole  land  of  Palestine  regarded  as  a 
mountain-land.  In  Messianic  prophecy  Palestine  represents,  of 
course,  the  centre  of  the  Messianic  kingdom.  The  justice,  peace  and 
plenty  of  the  Messianic  age  are  brought  together  strikingly  in  Ps.  lxxxiv. 
9-14.  The  association  of  justice  of  rule  and  fertility  of  soil  in  the 
time  of  the  ideal  king  is  an  aspect  of  the  fundamental  thought  ex- 
pressed  in  Romans  viii.  19-21.  The  soil  will  be  somehow  blessed  in 
the  justice  and  peace  of  the  Messianic  age. 

4.  The  clearest  token  of  a  reign  of  justice  is  the  protection  which 
is  given  to  the  weak.  The  pauperes  (Hebrew,  <aniyyim,  ‘  wretched  ') 
and  the  filii  pauperum  are  the  helpless  who  are  kept  safe  by  the  just 
rule  of  the  king.  It  is  not  to  be  inferred  from  this  verse,  or  similar 
verses,  that  the  tendency  to  oppression  will  stili  continue  in  the 
Messianic  age.  Ill-treatment  of  the  helpless,  and  in  justice  to  the 
poor  were  prominent  features  of  ancient  life  in  the  East  ;  the  psalmist 
thinks  of  the  Messias  as  crushing  ali  oppressors,  and  making  the  poor 
secure. 

Calummatorem  :  the  Hebrew  is  (oshek  oppressor  ')  :  the  Greek 
is  (TVKopdvTyjs  which,  normally,  suggests  false  witness.  The  use 
of  (TVKopdvrrj^  in  the  Septuagint  is  often  extended  to  include  the 
idea  of  oppression  generally.  The  Latin,  as  usual,  adopts  the  more 
obvious  rendering  of  the  Greek  word,  without  reference  to  the  Hebrew. 

5.  Permanebit :  here  the  Greek  (folio wed  by  Vulgate)  has  followed 
a  better  reading  than  the  Massoretic  text ;  the  latter  has  yira’ukha, 


1  Bellarmine's  explanation  of  the  verse  :  Descendat  pax  ad  omnes  montes 
hujus  terree  promissionis,  et  suscipiatur  ab  eis  pro  populo  in  eis  habitante  is  thus 
unnecessary. 


THE  PSALMS 


294 

‘  they  shall  fear  you/  instead  of  ya’arikh,  '  he  will  lengthen  out  ’ — i. e. 
his  days.  He  will  continue  to  exist  as  long  as  the  sun. 

Ante  limam  is  a  literal  rendering  of  the  Hebrew.  He  will  continue 
to  abide  with  the  sun,  and  before  the  face  of  the  moon,  i.e.  as  long  as 
sun  and  moon  endure.  Grotius  quotes  Ovid,  Amor.  i.  16  :  Cum  sole 
et  luna  semper  Aratus  erit.  With  ante  lunam  compare  ante  solem 
of  verse  17. 

Verse  5  could  not  be  said  of  any  actual  historical  king  of  Israel. 
Not  any  individual  human  king,  but  only  a  dynasty,  could  live  as 
long  as  the  world.  The  promise  of  perpetuity  was  made  to  the 
dynasty  of  David  ( cf .  II  Kings  vii.  15),  but  it  was  to  be  fulfilled  in  the 
Messias  Himself,  so  that  only  of  the  Messias  could  verse  5  be  true. 
It  would  be  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  we  have  here  nothing 
more  than  the  hyperbole  of  a  court-poet  celebrating  his  king.  It 
has  been  said  by  critics  that  verse  5  interrupts  the  natural  flow  of 
thought  in  4  and  6,  and  that  the  verse  is,  therefore,  an  interpolation. 
If,  however,  the  Hebrew  text  of  verse  3  makes  the  peace  of  the  king's 
reign  depend  on  his  justice,  why  not  regard  verse  5  as  implying  that 
the  stability  and  permanence  of  his  rule  are  secured  by  that  same 
justice  ?  That  would  make  the  continued  reference  to  the  king's 
justice  in  verses  6  and  7  quite  natural. 

In  generationem  et  generationem,  1  throughout  all  generations/  as 
long  as  men  exist/  With  this  verse  should  be  compared  Ps.  xliv.  7  ; 
lxxxviii.  37,  38  ;  and  Isaias  ix.  5  (where  the  Messias  is  called  ‘  Father 
of  eternity  ’)• 

6.  Vellus  ;  the  Hebrew,  gez  means  ‘  shearing/  and  may  signify 
the  grass  of  a  meadow,  as  well  as  the  fleece  of  a  sheep  (yid.  Amos  vii.  1). 
The  sense  of  the  Hebrew  is,  obviously  (from  the  parallelism),  *  as  the 
rain  comes  down  on  the  meadow/  The  Greek  and  Latin  translators, 
taking  gez  as  ‘  fleece/  found  here  a  reminiscence  of  Gideon’s  fleece 
(Judges  vi.  36-40). 

Sicut  stillicidia,  etc.,  the  Hebrew  text  is  here  unsatisfactory. 
Stillantia,  representing,  apparently,  the  Hebrew  zarziph  ( ‘  a  dripping  ’) 
is  not  necessary  in  the  verse,  and  disturbs  the  parallelism.  Omitting 
it  we  get  the  smooth  text  : 

He  cometh  down 

Like  grass  on  the  meadow, 

Like  showers  on  the  earth. 

The  fertilising  rain  which  falis  so  gently  symbolises  the  quiet  coming 
and  the  beneficent  effects  of  Messianic  rule.  Compare  the  second 
Antiphon  of  Lauds  on  the  Octave  of  the  Nativity  :  Quando  natus  es 
ineffabiliter  ex  Virgine,  tunc  impletce  sunt  Scripturce  :  sicut  pluvia  in 
vellus  descendisti,  ut  salvum  faceres  genus  humanum :  te  laudamus, 
Deus  noster.  Cf.  the  Isaian  passage  (Is.  xlv.  8)  :  Rorate  coeli  desuper 
et  nubes  pluant  justum :  aperiatur  terra  et  germinet  salvatorem,  et 
justitia  oriatur  simul :  ego  Dominus  creavi  eum.  For  the  '  coming 


THE  KING  OF  PEACE 


295 

down  ’  as  implying  the  divine  pre-existence  of  the  Messias,  cf.  John  iii. 
13  i  vi-  38,  5L  63  ;  xiv.  28. 

7.  Orietur  translates  the  Hebrew  yiphrah,  ‘  will  bud  forth/  The 
Greek  is  dvareAei.  This  verb  is  used  frequently  in  the  Septuagint 
to  render  the  Hebrew  samah,  ‘  to  sprout/  and  the  Hebrew  noun 
Semah  (‘  a  sprout  '),  which  is  used  at  times  as  an  epithet  of  the  Messias 
(cf.  Jer.  xxiii.  5  ;  xxxiii.  15  ;  Zach.  iii.  8  ;  vi.  12),  is  rendered  in  the 
Septuagint  by  dvaroXr )  (Oriens).  In  the  Benedictus  the  Oriens  ex 
alto  has,  thus,  a  specifically  Messianic  sense  ;  and  it  can  scarcely  be 
doubted  that,  for  the  Latin  translator  of  the  psalms,  orietur  of  this 
verse  called  up  Messianic  associations. 

Justitia  :  the  Massoretic  text  reads  saddik  (justus)  instead  of 
sedek  (justice).  The  Vulgate  implies  a  better  text  as  we  can  see  from 
the  parallel  to  justitia — viz.  abundantia  pacis. 

Justice  and  fulness  of  peace  are  constant  characteristics  of  the 
Messianic  age  (cf.  Ps.  lxxxiv.  11-14).  In  Jeremias  xxxv.  15-16  the 
coming  of  the  ‘  Shoot  of  Righteousness  '  is  accompanied  by  justice 
and  fairness  and  peace.  In  the  great  Messianic  prophecy  of  Isaias  xi. 
1-9,  the  righteousness  and  equity  of  the  ‘  Shoot  from  the  stock  of 
Jesse  '  are  closely  associated  with  a  picture  of  idyllic  peace  in  which 
the  wolf  and  the  lamb,  the  leopard  and  the  kid,  the  calf  and  the  young 
lion,  the  cow  and  the  bear,  the  lion  and  the  ox,  the  babe  and  the 
basilisk,  are  shown  as  living  together  in  friendly  fellowship. 

Donec  auferatur  luna,  '  until  the  moon  ceases  to  be/  i.e.  as  long 
as  the  universe  endures. 

8.  With  this  description  of  the  extent  of  the  Messianic  kingdom 
compare  the  Messianic  text  Zach.  ix.  10  :  f  And  he  shall  speak  peace 
with  the  heathen  :  and  his  dominion  shall  be  from  sea  even  unto 
sea,  and  from  the  river  even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.’  The  ‘  seas  ’ 
are  probably  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Indian  Ocean  :  the  *  river  * 
is  the  Euphrates  ;  the  other  directions  in  which  the  kingdom  extends 
are  yidicated  by  '  the  ends  of  the  earth/  The  psalmist  does  not 
wish  to  assign  geographical  boundaries  to  the  Messianic  kingdom, 
but  to  suggest  its  unlimited  extent.  The  Empire  of  Solomon  had 
stretched  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  Mediterranean  ;  but  the  empire 
of  the  Messias  will  be  indefinitely  greater  than  that  of  Solomon. 

9.  TEthiopes  :  the  corresponding  Hebrew  is  siyyim,  which  means 
‘  desert-dwellers/  and  is  usually  employed  to  designate  the  wild  beasts 
of  the  desert.  The  rendering  ‘  Ethiopians  *  (in  Septuagint,  Vulgate 
and  Jerome)  is  based  on  the  supposition  that  siyyim  may  mean 
human  dwellers  of  the  desert.  Probably  the  true  Hebrew  text  is 
$araw,  ‘  his  foes  ’  :  this  would  be  a  perfect  parallel  to  inimici  ejus. 

Before  him  shall  bow  down  his  foes  ; 

And  liis  enemies  shall  lick  the  dust. 

‘  Lick  the  dust  ’  is  a  strong  way  of  expressing  most  humble  prostra- 
tion  (cf.  Mich.  vii.  17  ;  Is.  xlix.  23). 


THE  PSALMS 


296 

10.  Kings  of  the  most  distant  lands  will  bring  gifts  to  the  Messias. 
Tarsis  (Hebrew,  Tarshish)  is  the  Phoenician  colony  of  Tartessus  in 
the  south  of  Spain.  The  *  Isles  '  are  the  islands  and  coast-lands  of 
the  Mediterranean  (Is.  xx.  6  ;  xxiii.  2,  6,  etc.,  etc.). 

Reges  Arabum  et  Saba  :  the  Hebrew  has,  ‘  the  kings  of  SWbha'  and 
Sebha’.’  SKbha'  is  Arabia  Felix — the  land  whence  came  the  queen 
to  do  honour  to  Solomon  (III  Kings  x.  iff.  For  gifts  brought  to  Solo- 
mon  compare  III  Kings  x.  24-25).  Sebha’  is  probably  Meroe  in 
Ethiopia.  The  Kings,  then,  of  farthest  west  and  south  bring  gifts 
to  the  King  whose  residence  is,  of  course,  Jerusalem.  The  munera 
and  dona  are  gifts  intended  to  secure  the  favour  of  the  King  and  to 
acknowledge  his  power.  (For  a  similar  picture  of  strangers  bringing 
gifts  from  afar,  see  Isaias  lx.  6-9.)  1 

11.  The  universality  of  the  Kings  sway  is  here  very  clearly  ex- 
pressed. 

In  the  context  (verses  8-1 1)  the  meaning  is  that  the  world-rule 
of  the  King  is  based  on  his  justice,  and  on  his  kindness  towards  the 
poor  and  the  oppressed.  Because  of  the  fairness  and  gentleness  of 
his  rule,  kings  of  lands  the  most  remote  come  hurrying  to  him  with 
gifts.  As  this  connection  of  thought  is  regarded  by  modern  critics 
as  foreign  to  Hebrew  modes  of  thinking,  it  has  been  proposed  to  regard 
verses  8-1 1  as  an  interpolation,  interrupting  the  obviously  natural 
sequence  of  verse  12  on  verse  7.  Yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  verses 
8-1 1,  which  describe  the  extent  of  the  Messianic  kingdom,  folio w 
naturally  on  the  verses  (4-7)  which  describe  the  character  and  duration 
of  the  Messianic  rule.  It  is  true  that  verse  12  continues  the  theme 
of  the  King’s  fairness  and  kindness,  which  is  treated  in  4-7  ;  but 
the  repetition  of  similar  thoughts  in  separated  sections  of  a  Hebrew 
poem  is  surely  not  a  good  reason  for  regarding  the  portions  of  the 
poem  which  lie  between  the  resembling  sections  as  interpolations. 
The  justice  of  the  King  is  the  theme  of  the  whole  poem,  and,  as 
verse  5  explains  by  that  justice  the  perpetuity  of  the  King’s  rule,  so 
verses  8-1 1  explain  by  it  the  universality  of  Messianic  sway. 

12-15.  A  description  of  Messianic  rule  as  it  affects  the  helpless 
and  poor.  The  thought  of  verse  4  is  here  developed. 

A  potente  :  the  Massoretic  text  has  :  ‘  He  rescueth  the  poor  who 
cries  for  help.'  Mesawwe‘  ‘  who  cries  for  help  '  was  read  by  the  Greek 
translators  as  mishshoa',  ‘  from  the  noble  '  or  ‘  from  the  powerful ' 
(shoa‘). 

13.  Parcet ;  in  Hebrew,  ‘  he  will  look  with  pity  on.’  Animas , 


1  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  verse  10  is  responsible  for  the  legend  which 
made  the  Magi  kings  who  came  from  different  lands — though  the  Gospel  text 
does  not  suggest  their  royalty,  and  represents  them  as  travelling  westwards 
together  from  a  common  horne.  (Matt.  ii.  1-12.) 


THE  KING  OF  PEACE 


297 

14.  Usura  and  iniquitas  describe  generally  the  kind  of  oppression 
which  the  poor  ha  ve  to  endure. 

Et  honorabile  nomen  eorum  coram  illo :  the  Massoretic  text  has, 

‘  And  "  precious  ”  is  their  blood  in  his  eyes/  i. e.  he  will  not  permit 
the  blood  of  the  poor  to  be  shed  ;  he  will  protect  their  life-blood,  as 
a  dear  and  precious  thing  from  their  oppressors.  The  Greek  trans- 
lators  read  shemam  (‘  their  name  ')  instead  of  demam  (‘  their  blood  'J.1 
The  sense  of  the  Vulgate  (and  Greek)  is,  that  the  poor  stand  in  high 
esteem  with  the  Messias.  He  will  not  suffer  them  to  be  oppressed. 
The  Hebrew  verb  yakar,  which  is  here  rendered  ‘  to  be  held  in  honour  ’ 
(honorabile) ,  occurs  also  in  the  saying,  Pretiosa  in  conspectu  Domini 
mors  sanctorum  ejus  (Ps.  cxv.  15)  and  in  Sauls  words  to  David  (I  Kings 
xxvi.  21),  quod  pretiosa  fuerit  anima  mea  in  oculis  tuis  hodie.  In  these 
two  places,  and  in  verse  14  of  our  psalm,  the  same  idea  is  conveyed — 
that  the  lives  of  certain  individuals  are  too  valuable  to  be  wasted, 
or  destroyed.  Probably  here  in  verse  14,  and  in  Ps.  cxv.  15  yakar 
has  the  meaning,  ‘  to  be  grievous/  '  to  be  heavy/  The  lives  of  his 
subjects  are  precious  to  the  King  :  hence  the  slaying  of  them  (their 
*  blood  ')  is  grievous  to  him. 

15.  The  difhculty  of  this  verse  is  to  determine  the  subject  of 
vivet.  Is  it  the  King,  or  the  ‘  poor  ’  ?  If  the  subject  is  the  King, 
it  is  said  of  him  that  he  will  live  (forever)  in  prosperity.  Gold  will 
be  brought  to  him,  and  his  subjects  will  pray  for  him.  As  perpetuity 
and  wealth  of  offerings  have  been  already  promised  to  the  King 
(verses  5,  10),  it  is  perhaps  better  to  take  the  pauper  of  verse  13  as 
the  subject  of  vivet ;  the  poor  man  will  live,  because  his  life-blood  is 
dear  and  precious  to  the  King,  and  he  will  have  a  share  in  the  rich 
offerings  which  are  brought  to  the  King  from  afar.  In  gratitude  for 
this  the  poor  man  will  pray  always  for  the  King  and  praise  him.  In 
this  view  adorabunt  and  benedicent  would  have  the  sense, *  *  men  will 
pray  for  '  (so,  according  to  the  Hebrew),  and  *  men  will  bless  '  (the 
third  person  plural  being  used  as  in  Hebrew  to  suggest  an  indefinite 
subject),  i. e.  the  poor  generally  will  offer  prayer  for  the  King,  and  will 
bless  him. 

De  eo,  '  concerning  him/  ‘  on  his  behalf/  The  prayer  of  his  grate- 
ful  subjects  is  offered  for  the  welfare  of  the  King.  It  is  not  easy  to 
understand  this  in  a  purely  Messianic  sense — for  men  pray  to  God 
but  not  for  Him.  Yet  we  ourselves  pray,  ‘  Thy  kingdom  come  *  ; 
and  adorabunt  de  eo  might  be  interpreted  of  a  prayer  for  the  growth 
and  stabilisation  of  the  Messianic  kingdom. 

16.  Firmamentum  ;  the  Massoretic  text,  using  a  word — pissah — 


1  It  is  possible  that  the  Vulgate  and  Greek  rendering  '  name  ’  instead  of 

*  blood  '  may  be  due  to  an  old  corruption,  in  the  Greek  text  itself,  of  dt/m  into 
iro/ia. 


298 


THE  PSALMS 


not  elsewhere  occurring  in  the  Bible,  has  here  pissath-bar,  which  is 
usually  rendered  ‘  abundance  of  corn/  ‘Abundance’  is,  however,  a 
purely  conjectural  translation  of  pissah .  The  Greek  rendering 
t TTripiyfxa  {firmamentum)  suggests  the  thought  of  something  which 
sustains,  and  therefore,  perhaps,  of  corn  (so  a-rfipty^a  aprov  in 
Ps.  civ.  16).  The  Hebrew  bar  (corn)  is  not  directly  represented  in 
the  Greek  or  Vulgate.  The  Targum  has  ‘  support  of  bread/  as  in 
Ps.  civ.  16.  It  is  probably  safe  to  assume  that  firmamentum  (‘  sus- 
tenance  ')  suggests  the  idea  of  corn. 

Superextolletur ,  etc.,  the  Hebrew  is  :  ‘  Its  fruit  will  rustle  (or 
shake)  like  Lebanon,’  which  means,  apparently,  that,  in  the  breeze 
the  fruit  of  the  corn  (the  full  ears  of  corn)  will  rustle  or  wave,  as  do 
the  forests  of  Lebanon.  By  dividing  the  text  of  the  Vulgate,  as  is 
do  ne  in  the  translation,  we  can  give  to  superextolletur  the  sense  of 
‘  wave/  As  in  verse  3  the  mountains  are  to  bear  ‘  peace  '  so  here  we 
see  the  concrete  symbol  of  peace  and  plenty,  the  fields  of  waving 
corn,  on  the  hill-tops.  By  translating  ‘  his  fruit  *  (the  fruit  of  the 
King,  i. e.  the  corn  as  his  fruit)  instead  of  ‘  its  fruit  ’  (the  ears  on  the 
corn-stalk)  we  can  understand  super  Lebanon  fructus  ejus  as  an  en- 
largement  of  the  idea  in  the  immediately  preceding  clause.  The 
corn-crops  on  the  mountain-land  of  Palestine  shall  be  so  luxuriant  as 
to  tower  above  Lebanon  in  height.  This  is,  obviously  quite  a  different 
image  from  that  conveyed  in  the  Hebrew,  but  a  reasonable  sense 
must  somehow  be  attached  to  the  Vulgate. 

The  Vulgate  rendering  supposes  a  Hebrew  reading  miWbhanon , 
(‘  than  Lebanon  ’)  instead.  of  the  Massoretic  kallebhanon  (‘  like 
Lebanon).  It  is  ciear  that  the  Greek  translators  misread  or  mis- 
understood  the  Hebrew  yirash  ‘  will  shake  ’  (or  ‘  rustle  ')•  Though 
the  idea  of  corn-fields  rustling  like  the  forests  of  Lebanon  in  the 
breeze  or  storm  is  strange,  there  is  no  good  reason  for  doubting  the 
accuracy  of  the  Massoretic  yi/ash  kallebhanon.  Keble  gives  this 
rendering  of  the  thought  : 

Lo,  streaks  of  corn  in  all  the  land, 

High  waving  o’er  the  mountain-side  ; 

Like  Lebanon  by  soft  winds  fanned, 

Rustles  the  golden  harvest  far  and  wide. 

De  civitate ,  ‘  city-folk  ’  :  cf.  de  fontibus  Israel  (Ps.  lxvii.  27)  : 
de  ccelis,  dwellers  in  heaven  *  (Ps.  cxlviii.  1).  The  peace  and  plenty 
of  the  Messianic  time  in  the  country  are  symbolised  by  the  waving 
corn-fields  ;  in  the  city  the  greatness  of  the  time  is  seen  in  the  multi- 
tudes  of  citizens  ;  men  will  be  as  numerous  in  the  city  as  are  blades 
of  grass  in  the  country  [cf.  passage  from  Ezechiel  xxxvi.  8/.  quoted 
above,  verse  3).  The  ‘  city  ’  is,  primarily,  the  residence  of  the 
Messianic  King,  the  metropolis  of  the  world.  (For  pictures  of  Mes¬ 
sianic  plenty,  cf.  Zach.  ix.  17  ;  Deut.  xi.  14  ;  Jer.  xxxi.  12  ;  Is.  xxvii.  6.) 


THE  KING  OF  PEACE 


299 

17.  Ante  solem  :  his  name  will  abide  as  long  as  the  sun  exists 
(cf.  verse  5). 

Permanet :  the  corresponding  Hebrew  verb  yinnon  was  so  obscure 
to  the  Jewish  commentators  that  they  made  Yinnon  a  mysterious 
name  of  the  Messias. 

Benedicentur :  the  Messias  will  be  a  source  of  blessing  to  ali 
peoples. 

Magnificabunt :  the  Massoretic  text  has  :  *  shall  declare  him 

fortunate/  The  peoples  will  regard  the  King  as  the  type  of  perfect 
happiness  and  prosperity,  and  when  they  pray  for  good  fortune, 
they  will  ask  to  be  blessed  like  him  (cf.  Genesis  xlviii.  20).  The 
Hebrew  text  has  lost  the  words  corresponding  to  omnes  tribus  terree, 
though  they  are  necessary  for  the  structure  of  the  verse.  The  uni- 
versalism  of  this  verse  is  as  outspoken  as  that  of  verses  10  and  11, 
and  the  close  connection  in  thought  and  expression  between  this 
verse  and  definit ely  Messianic  texts  of  Genesis  such  as  xii.  3  ;  xviii. 
18  ;  xxii.  18  ;  xxviii.  14  ;  xlix.  10,  makes  the  Messianic  interpretation 
of  the  psalm  a  necessity. 

18-19.  These  verses  are  not  part  of  the  original  poem.  They  are 
a  doxology  appended  to  mark  the  end  of  the  second  book  of  psalms. 

20.  This  is  the  note  of  an  an  cient  redactor  who,  not  knowing,. 
apparently,  the  psalms  of  Books  III-IV,  wished  to  indicate  the  close 
of  his  Davidic  collection.  The  designation  of  the  contents  of  that 
collection  as  the  f  praises  *  (or  ‘  prayers  ')  of  David  does  not,  of  itself,. 
imply  that  ali  the  poems  of  the  collection  were  necessarily  Davidic. 
For  defecerunt  compare  Ps.  xvii.  38  ;  lxx.  13  ;  xxxvi.  20  ;  xxx.  11  ; 
lxxxix.  7  ;  lxxvii.  33,  etc.  Laudes  (‘  songs  of  praise  ')  is  a  translation 
of  the  Hebrew  fhilloth ;  the  Massoretic  text  reads  fphilloth 
(‘  prayers  % 


END  OF  VOL.  I. 


CORRIGENDA 


Page  33  1.  3,  for  media  read  medial. 

„  116,  1.  12,  for  two-stringed  read  two  stringed. 

,  11 7,  1.  1  note,  for  Achist  read  Achish. 

„  127,  1.  1,  for  as  read  is. 

,,  167,  1.  9,  for  The  read  There. 

,,  185,  verse  12,  1.  1,  add  O  God  ! 

,,  217,  verse  5,  1.  1,  read  .  .  .  Thy  people  see 

,,  223,  1.  8,  for  ngeino  h  read  rfginoth. 


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